


New Ground

by sanctuary_for_all



Category: X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Family Bonding, Feels, Fix-It, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Slash, What Have I Done, fix all the things, this thing ran away from me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-07
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-01-18 11:47:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 40
Words: 47,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1427347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's an entire world between rage and serenity, if you're brave enough to reach for it.</p><p>(AKA the "X-men: First Class" fix-it that accidentally turned into its own universe. Seriously - we're several years in by this point. There are children.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note: So this is basically a massive "X-men: First Class" fix-it that mushroomed into this entire alternate universe. It's been sitting on my hard-drive forever, but I decided if I was going to get it out there at all I'd better do it before "Days of Future Past" came out. I should probably be ashamed of myself for all of it.

Erik knew a hundred different ways to kill, but none to stop someone without hurting them. And there was still a little boy inside him, the one who had lit the menorah with his mother and could delight in something so simple as turning a satellite dish, who could not bear to hurt his best friend.

As if reading his mind – impossible, with the helmet still in place – Charles looked up at him with anguish in his eyes. “Don’t make me do this!”

The struggle stilled for a moment. Above them, the missiles hung like destroying angels. “Your powers won’t work on me now.” He met Charles’ eyes, forcing him to understand. The other man had always thought Erik better than he truly was. “But _you_ could still be hurt. Get the children out of here while I finish this!”

“What you do, I do.” Charles gripped his arm, the intensity in his eyes communicating its own truths. “I held Shaw for you, and I will _not_ leave you alone on this beach. But I am asking you, _begging_ you, not to make me be a part of killing all these people.”

Erik froze, staring down into the bright blue eyes that had always seemed capable of seeing straight into his soul. He knew what it was like to have blood on his hands, but Charles didn’t. It _hurt_ , at least until you became numb to it, and the pain was just as real as any physical injury.

The time would come, he suspected, when Charles would have no choice but to take on that kind of hurt. But Erik wouldn’t be the one who forced him into that decision. The war could wait.

He exploded the missiles where they hung, the sky filling with harmless fire, and the telepath sagged in relief. “Now, we need to get—”

The next second was a blur. Charles stopped speaking, eyes widening for a fraction of an instant, then he grabbed Erik by the front of his suit and rolled them both. Erik had barely hit the ground when he felt the other man’s body jerk, the same moment when Raven screamed her adopted brother’s name.

 Erik was up quickly enough to catch Charles as he crumpled. He looked up to see Moira staring at them both in absolute horror, gun dangling from now nerveless fingers. Blind rage surged inside him as he lifted his hand toward her. How _dare_ she….

Then Charles’ hand lifted, gripping the front of his suit again, and his attention was immediately jerked away from vengeance. Raven dropped to her knees beside them both as Erik used his powers to pull the bullet out of the telepath’s back. It dropped to the sand as the girl grabbed her brother’s hand. “Do not even _think_ about dying on me,” she ordered, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Charles tried to smile. “I wouldn’t dare.”

Erik’s own eyes were wet as well. “ _Dummkopf_ ,” he rasped, hand cradling his friend’s face as the rest of the team ran towards them. “Why did you do that? I can _deflect_ bullets.”

“Only … if you see them coming.” Charles’ voice was weak, already fading, and Erik tasted the kind of terror he hadn’t felt since he was a child. “Didn’t … catch her thoughts … until the first shot ….”

So he’d taken the bullet, and reduced the world down to something far simpler than vengeance, evolution, or even freedom. Charles Xavier was not allowed to die.

Nothing else mattered.

Mind frozen to anything but his most immediate priority, Erik lifted his head to look for Shaw’s teleporter. He was still standing at a distance, next to one of Shaw’s other men, and Erik waved them closer. “We need an exit,” he ordered, putting enough command in his voice that he hoped obedience would be automatic. “Now. I know someplace safe.”

The teleporter hesitated, but another glare sent both men running forward. A moment later he sensed movement from Moira’s direction as well, and his gaze snapped back to her. “Don’t you _dare_ come closer!”

The rage was still there, made only worse by pain. But vengeance required time Charles didn’t have.

“Stay with me,” Erik murmured, all his attention once again focused on the telepath as everyone gathered close. There were tears on his cheeks, but taking care of them would have meant letting go of the other man. “You have to stay with me, Charles.”

The group disappeared in a puff of smoke.

           


	2. Chapter 2

Those first 24 hours, the hospital staff was convinced there was nothing in all of Madrid more terrifying than Erik Lensherr and Raven Darkholme.

Lensherr was the more obviously terrifying of the two, barking orders and issuing threats with a wild look in his eye that suggested he’d murder them all if the young man in their charge didn’t survive the night. Nurses and orderlies soon began openly hiding from him, not wanting to be the person who tipped him past his too-precarious breaking point.

The young woman was far less physically intimidating, and she couldn’t speak enough Spanish to threaten anyone even if she’d wanted to. But there was steel in her eye that suggested that she would not _let_ their patient die, reality be damned, and she could not only face Lensherr down but actually _control_ him to some small degree. That kind of willpower was, in some ways, even more frightening.

000

“Eat something,” Raven snapped, using the command voice she hadn’t even known she’d had before tonight. She shoved an apple at Erik, bought with the money she’d ordered out of him earlier to make sure everyone else ate. It wasn’t enough, but it was about all she thought she had a chance for. “Now.”

Erik didn’t look up, slumped in the uncomfortable chair with his head buried in his hands. He was still in his flight suit, having refused to be dragged from the hospital even to change, Shaw’s helmet sitting next to him forgotten on the seat.

After a moment, she reared her hand back to bonk him on the head with the apple. Suddenly, his head snapped up and he grabbed her wrist before she could strike. He seemed confused for an instant, as if not entirely sure what had just happened, then he glared at her. “I told you to leave me alone.”

“It’s not going to help Charles if you starve yourself,” she hissed, shoving the apple at him. Erik hesitated for a minute, then snatched it out of her hand. She’d discovered quickly that her brother’s name was the magic word when it came to getting Erik to do something, and she was shameless about using it to save the man from himself.

Raven straightened, hands on her hips as she watched him take a bite then throw the apple next to the helmet. She’d felt a connection with Erik back in Westchester, and she supposed she still did. Over the last several hours, though, she’d realized that connection came from being the only two people who couldn’t decide whether they wanted to strangle Charles Xavier or wrap him up in blankets and keep him safe from the rest of the world. She had wanted to fight, needed it almost, but a part of Raven had imagined her brother safe somewhere while she went and caused chaos for their kind. There was something about the stricken look in Erik’s eyes that made her suspect he’d imagined the same thing.

But she couldn’t trust in his safety so blithely anymore. Which reminded her …. She glanced over at the helmet, then looked back at Erik through narrowed eyes. “Why did Charles scream?”

Erik’s head snapped up again, eyes wide as if he’d just heard the sound itself. “What?”

“At the beach.” Raven planted her feet slightly apart, unconsciously adopting a fighting stance. “Before the two of you came out and had your showdown over the missiles.” Her voice sharpened. “It went on for awhile.”

She could practically see the moment when realization connected in his head, then stared as she watched the blood slowly drain out of his face. He tried to speak, but no sound came out.

Raven felt a chill. “Erik?”

His only response was to stand up abruptly, grab Shaw’s helmet with shaking hands, and hurry out of the room. Shocked, she watched him go, wondering if she should chase after him. After everything that had happened, would _this_ be what would make him leave for good?

It was less than an hour later, though, before he came back and shoved a ragged lump of metal into her hands. “Give it to Hank,” he said shortly, turning away as if he didn’t want to even look at it. “He can study it once he has his test tubes again.”

Confused, Raven looked down at the twisted, distended, melted wreck. It was only when she saw a small spot of folded, still-smooth metal, the one bit that hadn’t been rendered entirely unrecognizable, that she realized it was the helmet.

She stared at Erik again, who turned back to meet her gaze. He still had a slightly crazed look in his eyes, and he was breathing hard like he’d just run a mile. She tightened her hold on the lump, knowing he’d never forgive her if she hugged him. “Think as loudly at him as you can,” she said instead, putting all the conviction she’d ever had about anything into her voice. “If we have to, we’ll annoy him back into consciousness.”

They’d stolen him, back on the beach, and between them they would hold him to life by sheer force of will if necessary. And if he woke up and wanted to leave, they would talk him into staying. Both she and Erik were terrible at letting things go.

And Charles was theirs.

Erik stared at her for a long moment, then gave her a terse nod. If she were a telepath, she imagined she would already hear him shouting. 


	3. Chapter 3

He wasn’t dead, which was a pleasant surprise.

Even better, however, was the touch of the two minds nearest his. Raven, who was holding his hand and silently ordering him to open his eyes. And Erik, who might not have been quite as aware that he was begging him to do the same thing.

Charles opened his eyes.

Both of them surged forward so quickly at the small movement that they must have been watching for it. “Charles!” Raven threw herself into his arms, jerking backward only at his involuntary noise of pain. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He pulled her close again, fingertips brushing through her blond hair. “I thought….”

Her smile was sad. “Mutant pride seemed less important than making sure I was here when you woke up.”

Charles closed his eyes a moment. “I’m sorry I ever made you feel like your true form wasn’t beautiful.” Taking her face in his hands, he pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “I was wrong.”

Her eyes filled. “It’s okay. Big brothers get to be wrong sometimes.”

He brushed the wetness away with his thumb. “Though I’d appreciate it if you still wear clothes while I’m around.”

Raven laughed, just like he’d hoped she would. “Prude.” She kissed his cheek. “I will be _right_ back. But I have to go make sure that the boys and Angel haven’t burned the city down without proper supervision.” She glanced at Erik, the look saying as clearly as a thought that she was leaving them alone to talk, and slipped out of the room.

When the door closed behind her, Charles looked over at the man who had so quickly become his best friend.  Erik was standing a little away from the hospital bed, as if uncertain he would be allowed any closer, and the bitterness that had radiated out of him at the beach had given way to sheer exhaustion. Images filled in the time Charles was unconscious, flashes of money changing hands, arguments with men in white coats, and what appeared to be several different people backing warily away from Erik. After the initial rush to get here, all of the other man’s memories seemed to be within the confines of the hospital.

The relief of being able to sense his thoughts again was staggering.

Now, though, did not seem to be the time to admit that. “So, what city might they be at risk of burning down?” He tried to keep his voice light. “Strictly for insurance purposes, of course.”

Unlike his sister, Erik did not oblige him by smiling. “Madrid.” He took a step closer, surface thoughts full of a catalogue of every tube and wire attached to Charles’ body. “There are doctors here who are experts at forgetting inconvenient questions for a suitable amount of money.” At the other man’s questioning expression, Erik raised an eyebrow. “My past has its uses.”

Pushing aside the flashes of memory attached to that simple statement, Charles took a deep breath and struggled into a sitting position. “How bad is it?” His fingers curled in the blanket, fighting the urge to reach down and touch the legs he could only barely feel.

“With physical therapy, you may walk again. Eventually.” A muscle moved in Erik’s jaw. “You’ll always have limited mobility.”

“Ah.” Charles closed his eyes, surprised at how much it hurt to accept what he’d already known. “I suppose I won’t be asking Hank for a rematch any time soon.”

There was a blaze of emotion from Erik, too much to decipher, and suddenly he was beside the bed gripping one of Charles’ hands painfully tight. Charles opened his eyes, staring into Erik’s anguished ones. “Why?” The word was a rasp. “We’d just barely stopped fighting one another for the lives of strangers who’d tried to kill us. Moira was on _your_ side. Why would you take a bullet for me?”

Charles couldn’t answer for a moment, overwhelmed by the rush of emotion pouring out of Erik, but the other man misinterpreted his silence as something else. “Raven heard you scream.” A second hand joined the first, as if Erik was holding on for dear life. “I didn’t think about what it meant that you held Shaw’s mind, but that doesn’t mean I deserve your forgiveness. There was _no_ reason for you to take that bullet.”

Charles forced himself to think again, pulling himself away from Erik’s mind enough to cover the other man’s hands with his free one. In the heartbeat when he had made his decision there had been no time to reason, to work out different alternatives and decide which was the wisest. All he had known was that Agent Moira MacTaggert had aimed for the kill, Erik couldn’t hear him mentally, and he couldn’t trust his voice to be fast enough.

All he’d been certain of was that the world he was trying so hard to protect needed to have Erik Lensherr in it. Anything else was unacceptable.

“I want peace,” Charles said finally, trying to communicate the truth of what he was saying with every fiber of his being. “But I refuse to sacrifice you to get it.”

Erik’s eyes were wet as he met the telepath’s gaze. “I don’t think peace is possible,” he said quietly, voice rough. In his mind, Charles saw the memory of him crumpling the helmet into a metallic lump. “But I won’t sacrifice you to war.”

The touch of his mind made the words feel like a vow, and the vise that had been pressing against Charles’ chest since the beach loosened all at once. “So we’ll find our own ground.”

That surprised a disbelieving chuckle out of Erik. “There is no other ground.”

Charles smiled, delighted that he felt enough hope to want to. “Only because we haven’t made it yet.”

After a moment, Erik smiled as well. “I felt I should warn you, Hank is already drawing up plans to build you what he keeps referring to as a ‘hover chair.’ The fact that there’s an ocean between him and his lab seems to be a minor detail.”

Charles groaned, remembering the suits. “It’s going to be yellow, isn’t it?”

Erik squeezed his hand, sounding amused. “That would be my guess.”


	4. Chapter 4

Hank knew, on some level, that the sketches were foolish – they wouldn’t be going back to the CIA, or Charles’ mansion, or anywhere else where he would have the equipment he’d need to turn the lines of schematics and scribbled equations into reality. But he'd spent most of his life preparing for a future that might never come, and the plans kept his mind occupied as he waited for his world to reassemble itself into something functional.

At least, mostly occupied. Not even science could compete with Raven, who walked around their temporarily borrowed home with almost more ease and grace than she’d had back at the mansion. She spent as much time in her natural form as she could – delicately patterned blue skin and red hair pressed flat, either through practicality or biology – and after the first few days Hank was stunned to realize she seemed happier than he’d ever seen her. They had been shot at by the CIA, were hiding out in a foreign country, had no chance of going home, and she seemed utterly at peace.

When he asked her about it, she just smiled. “Charles is alive, and we’re still on the same side.” She stopped a moment, eyes going soft like she was cherishing a memory, then lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “I have everything I need.”

Hank was silent a moment, just watching her. Here, she was beautiful in the same way cells were beautiful – strange, complex, and perfect in such a fundamental way that it could bring a tear to your eye. If you didn’t understand them, you could never see how wonderful they were.

But his understanding had come late. He’d dismissed her in his old world, taken the gift of her smile and thrown it back in her face, and it seemed wrong to beg for it back here in this strange, still pause between the universes. Even science punished cowardice.

Still, he had to know. “Is that why you forgave me?” Hank’s voice was quiet as he remembered the feel of her gloved hand against his cheek. He’d thought Erik had been mocking him, but there had only been sweet acceptance in Raven’s eyes.

Now, her brow furrowed as she cocked her head to study him. His brief, alarmed thought was that she _hadn’t_ really forgiven him, and when her eyes narrowed slightly it seemed to confirm his worst fears. “I don’t know,” she said finally, and Hank couldn’t decide whether her not knowing was better or worse than his own ignorance had been.

He nodded, feeling foolish, and though he knew he should admit defeat and escape his feet seemed rooted to the ground. He couldn’t will them to move, at least not away, and he spoke half hoping she would chase him off and forcibly solve his dilemma. “I’m sorry.” The words were half growl, and he wondered if she would recognize the sound as embarrassment. “I should … I should let you get back to … whatever you were doing.”

It was his cue to leave, and when he still couldn’t take it she turned and headed back down the hallway in the opposite direction. He watched her go, feeling like the world he’d been waiting for was stretching endlessly away from him, when she stopped. After a heartbeat, she turned around to look at him.  “Would you change back to your old form?” she asked, voice gentle. Still, there was an undercurrent of something beneath the words he had no idea how to translate. “If you could?”

Hank hesitated. Alex was less annoying now, miraculously, and that hint of disdain had disappeared from Erik’s eyes. He could say either of those facts and be entirely honest, but the truth he knew she was looking for was much more complicated than that. He wasn’t good enough at conversation to sustain a lie, and if he betrayed her trust again he’d lose even her friendship. He couldn’t risk that.

Which left him with the same deeply unsatisfactory answer she’d offered. “I don’t know.” She nodded, expression falling a little, but before she could turn around again Hank felt something inside him leap into the void. “But I wouldn’t change a single thing about you.”

The words were hurried, rushing to get themselves heard before she disappeared again, but they were enough to make her hesitate. After a moment, she turned around again, searching for something in his eyes.

He wanted to smile, but he hadn’t really tried the expression out with his new face yet. So he just stayed where he was, letting her look, and after a moment Raven’s face burst into a brilliant smile of her own. “I was wrong.” There was happiness in her voice, and the thought that some of it might be for him was a wonder worth cherishing. “ _Now_ I have everything I need.”

Hank risked a smile back at her, and when hers widened he found himself a little bit less afraid than he had been. As long as his new world included Raven, he would wait for it as long as he needed to.


	5. Chapter 5

Raven knew this shouldn’t have been an option, the twin comforts of her blue skin and having her brother still under the same roof. She’d known, weeks before Cuba, that she would have to choose between Charles’ and Erik’s vision of the world, and though it would have broken her heart she knew she would have chosen Erik’s.

Then Charles had been shot, she and Erik had stolen him away, and by the time she remembered to breathe again the world had changed. Charles had talked Erik into flying him back to America, but only long enough get some funds and wipe the memory of all of them from the CIA officials’ minds. Then, instead of returning to Westchester, he’d come back.

The violence in Erik seemed to have faded as well, his formidable attention turned to taking care of her brother instead of waging war. Charles had relied on Erik heavily during the first few days of his recovery, leaning on the other man’s mind out of respect for Raven’s request that he remain out of hers. She’d warned Charles to be careful – he could be overwhelming when he didn’t watch himself, and she didn’t want Erik to pull away again out of fear for his mental privacy – but she was grateful for any tie that kept either man from leaving.

Her own anger had abated as well, Charles’s and Hank’s acceptance doing wonders for easing her heart. If she believed in God, she would have called it a miracle. But for atheists like her, luck was a poor explanation for something so impossible.

If this left her just a little bit afraid, she was very careful not to show it.

000

Charles only ever brooded in private, which just made it that much more dangerous. Raven stopped in the doorway, watching him stare at his reflection in the window, and knew she had to put a stop to whatever he was thinking. “Please don’t tell me you’ve become so boring that you now find _sitting_ interesting,” she announced, heading towards him. “The least you could do is hunt up some deadly dull book to read.”

He turned to look at her, the smile that flickered on his face genuine but tired. “I’m afraid my ego overwhelmed me for a moment. I don’t remember the last time I allowed myself to look quite this disheveled.”

At first, she thought it was a polite cover for whatever he’d really been worrying about. “I have been thinking that you look kind of homeless,” she said, giving the words the sarcastic edge they deserved.

It was only when he winced that she realized his concern was genuine. “I know.” He scrubbed a hand along his scruff. “I would shave, but I’m not nearly confident enough in my ability to use the old-fashioned straight razors Erik prefers. As for the hair, it seems a bit ridiculous to ask Erik to take me into the nearest town simply to find a barber.”

Charles’s hair wasn’t much longer than the length he’d worn it at for years now, but it seemed to genuinely bother him. As if, after everything he’d been through, he needed to control at least _something_ about himself.

Of course, he’d been this careful about his appearance even before the chair. She wondered, suddenly, if he’d felt out of control long before getting shot on that beach.

“I could do it,” she said, surprising them both. “I only had that semester at beauty school, but it’s got to be better than letting anyone else here near your head.”

This time, Charles’s smile lasted far longer. “Oh, would you?” He turned around, wheeling toward her. “I’m sure Erik has some scissors in his medical kit, if nowhere else.”

The scissors were found relatively quickly, and they decided to set up in the kitchen. Thankfully, they would probably have privacy for at least a little while – Erik had taken Sean to get supplies, Alex was in the woods nearby practicing, and Hank was happily immersed in his designs for wonders he hoped he’d one day get the chance to build.

She told Charles about them as she began snipping. “He’s trying to figure out how to build a personal teleportation device, so we’ll still be able to just pop in someplace even though Azazel left.” She smiled. “I don’t think it’s going to work, but if anyone can pull it off it’ll be Hank.”

Charles hesitated a moment before speaking. “I take it you and he are no longer fighting?”

That stopped Raven a moment. She hadn’t ever told Charles that they’d fought in the first place. “He … apologized. We’re friends again.” She paused, wondering how much her voice was giving away. “He said he wouldn’t change a single thing about me.”

It was only after Charles’s shoulders relaxed that she realized they’d tensed in the first place. “That’s good.” Then he smiled. “I suppose it’s too early to start teasing him about being my future brother-in-law.”

She was grateful he was at the wrong angle to see her blush. “Do and I’ll hurt you.”

They then lapsed into comfortable silence, broken only by the small sound of the scissor blades closing together. It reminded Raven of when they were kids, and they used to pretend they were the only two people left in the entire world.

“Why did you stay with us?” she asked quietly, unable to hold it in any longer.

He made a rueful noise. “The hospital staff would have been quite upset if I’d attempted to wheel my way to freedom. Erik had already frightened them enough.’

“I’m serious,” she said sternly, hitting him on the head with the closed scissors. “You had the perfect opportunity to go back to Westchester.”

It was awhile before he spoke. “That’s not the place for either you or Erik,” he said finally. “Sean deserves the chance to return to his home, but the rest of us have nothing to go back for.”

Something in Raven’s chest caught as she squeezed his shoulder. “So the missiles are what changed your mind?” In that moment, she felt absurdly grateful that the government had tried to kill them all. “The fact that the humans betrayed you?”

Charles let out a long breath. “No.” Suddenly, he sounded tired again. “I had hoped for more, but I always knew it was a possibility."

She believed him, but that only made her more confused. “Then why didn’t you let Erik use the missles?”

He closed his eyes. “If I stop thinking of people as worth saving, I have no reason not to see them as tools.” There was something close to anguish in his voice, and Raven realized that she'd heard the echo of it far too often from her brother. “It would be far, far too easy to see them as tools.”

She closed her own eyes a moment. It was so easy to forget sometimes what the world was like for him. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” The words were gentle, easier than they had been. 

Raven smoothed a hand over his hair. “I noticed you still didn’t answer my first question, though.” She felt the old ache, deep in her chest. "If we weren't enough before, why are we now?"

He didn’t say anything for a long moment, and when he finally did break the silence his voice was so low she could barely hear it. “I was afraid.”

Confused, she tilted her head around to see his face. “What?”

He sounded so reluctant, as if he were forcibly prying the words out of himself one at a time. “You were leaving me, and everything I tried to do to keep you close only made you pull away harder." Charles closed his eyes a moment. "I knew I wasn't enough to hold you, but I couldn't accept the inevitable."

Her chest caught. They had both misunderstood each other so badly. "Charles...."

"It's okay." He found her hand, squeezing it. "I wasn't enough to hold Erik, either. I suppose I hoped that humanity was a large enough sample pool that I would inevitably find somewhere I did fit."

She pressed her lips against his hair. She couldn't share Erik's secrets, but she could give Charles hers. "I always wanted you with me."

His only response was to close his eyes again. "You and Erik were always enough, Raven. Always. I just needed to work up the courage to ask you both if you could find room for me."

Raven blinked back tears, heart so full she was amazed it could still fit into her chest. She leaned over enough to give him a backwards hug, cheek pressed against his hair as she held him as tightly as she could. “We stole you,” she murmured, voice thick. “And nothing you say will ever convince me otherwise.”

Charles chuckled, but his own voice was rough with emotion as he squeezed her arm. “I can accept that.”

           


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who follow the Marvel 616 universe, I am fully aware that my Genosha in no way matches the Genosha found in the comics. Since it really hasn't been explored much in the movies, though, I feel I have some wiggle room.

Charles had been wrong – Shaw had needed to die, though Erik would have been far quicker about it if he’d known how much he was hurting the telepath. He was starting to realize, however, that he had been wrong as well. He felt centered, as steadied as those moments when Charles was inside his mind, and though he couldn’t be sure it seemed suspiciously close to the peace he’d denied ever being a possibility.

Charles, unfortunately, was having difficulty finding that same sense of peace.

“Sean should go home.” The telepath’s teeth were gritted as he repeated the words that had become a litany over the last 24 hours, sweat pouring down his face as he worked. He had only been out of the hospital for a couple of weeks, and physical therapy was only one of the many mountains they still had left to climb. “Angel already left with Shaw’s men, Alex doesn’t want to go back to prison, Hank _can’t_ go back to work for the CIA, and Raven wants someplace where she doesn’t have to hide anymore. But there is _nothing_ keeping Sean here.”

“Except his choice. Now lift.” Pressing down on Charles’ knee, Erik lifted up on the calf as the telepath willed his thigh muscles into action. They were still in one of Erik’s safe houses, far enough away from the main city that no one was interested in asking too many questions. Since it would have been impractical to drag along one of the hospital’s doe-eyed Spanish nurses, Erik had volunteered to take over the role of physical therapist. Insisted, actually. “You made it very clear he could have the seat next to Raven on the flight back, and he just as clearly told you no.”

Charles sighed. “I still should have sent someone with her. Or gone myself – her name is the only other one on the accounts, but if I missed someone at the CIA—“

“That’s not what you should be worried about. Our real concern is that she’ll forget all about us and use the money to buy herself a private beach to lounge on.”

The corners of the telepath’s mouth eased upward into a smile, just as Erik had hoped. “She’s too fond of Hank. And, since turning blue and furry has somehow helped him become far more successful at not putting his foot in his mouth, he might actually have a chance.”

Erik stopped the therapy, looking up at Charles with an amused expression. “Shall I be on hand in case he tries to choke you during the inevitable ‘big brother’ talk?”

Charles raised an eyebrow. “If I remember correctly, I was the one who talked him out of killing _you_.”

“Touché.” The corners of Erik’s mouth curved upward as he bent back down to his task. “Now, ten more reps.”

They fell into the rhythm they had developed over the last several days, finishing the set before shifting sides. Erik kept waiting for someone to call him on the absurdity of the position he’d claimed – weapons were not meant to heal, and only the most deluded thought otherwise.

But the sole reason he’d kept himself alive the last two decades was finished, and he now questioned the speed with which he’d blindly thrown himself into Shaw’s vision. Erik still wasn’t certain it was wrong, but simply picking up the fallen crown seemed a little too close to something that would have pleased the dead man. At the same time, he didn’t have enough faith in humanity to be willing to give himself over to Charles’ hopes for acceptance and integration.

So, for now, his purpose was simply Charles. He didn’t imagine the situation could last, but for the moment it seemed to be exactly what he needed.

“Are you happy?”

Erik jerked his head upward at the question, certain that the telepath had been responding directly to his thoughts. When he saw the uncertainty on the other man’s face, however, he realized that couldn’t be possible. “Aren’t you the one who can read minds?” he asked lightly, squeezing Charles’ leg as he straightened.

“Raven pointed out that I’m not particularly good at respecting your mental boundaries.” The telepath looked up at him, sounding faintly sheepish. “I’ve been trying to work on that.”

Erik was a little stunned by how opposed he was to the idea. He’d warned Charles to stay out of his head more than once, but the thought of the telepath actually _listening_ made Erik feel surprisingly lost.

As soon as he processed the thought, he realized that boundaries would be a _spectacularly_ good idea if it kept Charles from sensing things like that. “So you’re relying on more traditional methods to check the morale of the troops?” Erik moved the wheelchair into position, careful not to meet the other man’s eyes. “I wouldn’t be too concerned. As long as you continue keeping their needs in mind, I think Sean’s made it quite clear they would follow you anywhere.”

For a moment, there was only silence. Then Charles took a deep breath. “Would you?”

Erik went absolutely still, hearing far more in the simple question than a matter of decision making or logistics. Keeping his thoughts clamped down tightly enough that even his expression wouldn’t betray him, he met Charles’ eyes. “What, precisely, are you asking me?”

The other man hesitated, mouth opening and closing as he sought for words. Finally, he lifted his chin. “Hank says he can rebuild Cerebro.”

The scope of vision implied in the words was staggering. “You want to keep looking for mutants.”

“But this time, we would be the _only_ ones looking for them.” He leaned forward slightly, suddenly intent. “They wouldn’t go into any government database. But they need to know they’re not alone, Erik, just as much as we did. They _deserve_ to know.”

Erik remembered that night out on the water, the dizzying possibility that there was a hand reaching out for his in the darkness. His chest tightened. “I don’t suppose you know where we’ll put them all.”

Another hesitation. “I’ve read about an island just north of Madagascar called Genosha. It’s been mostly a sociological footnote up to this point, since the island’s inhabitants have held onto a belief in what they call ‘magic children,’ despite being quite comfortable with technology.” A spark lit his eyes. “The interesting thing is that the inhabitants are very protective of their ‘magic children.’ They only let the most trusted outsiders anywhere but the island’s one port, though one sociologist did mention getting a glimpse of a woman cradling what appeared to be a small child covered in yellow fur. He later decided he had been mistaken, and it had been nothing more than an unidentified exotic animal.”

“You think they have mutants there.” Erik felt his breath go. “You think they _accept_ mutants there.”

“I can’t be sure. But if they do….” He reached out, taking one of Erik’s hands in his. “A school. To help mutants understand their powers and find peace with themselves.” There were tears in his eyes. “To give them a place where they never have to hide who they are.”

Erik’s own eyes were wet, and he swiped at them with his free hand. His heart wanted to lunge for this with every fiber of his being, but he held it back for a few more struggling moments. “You’re insane.”

Charles laughed. “I know.” He tightened his hold on Erik’s hand. “I need you with me.”

A vision they could _both_ believe in…. “This isn’t the integration you wanted.”

“And this isn’t the human-free utopia you wanted,” Charles answered softly. “Maybe it’s better.”

Erik swallowed. “New ground.”

Charles smiled. “New ground.”

Erik’s laugh was only a little wild as he closed his eyes. “You’re still insane.” His voice cracked. “But yes. I’m with you.”

“Thank you.” The air left Charles’ lungs in a rush. “You have no idea how good that is to hear.”

Erik grinned, feeling something more than mere peace. Maybe … maybe it was even happiness. “Actually, I believe I do.”

               


	7. Chapter 7

Even when the bulk of your earthly possessions were somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, moving was as chaotic as Charles had remembered. More so, in fact – Sean had Raven’s tendency for collecting items that he then deemed “absolutely essential,” and Hank had cobbled together a few rather ungainly pieces of equipment that he was reluctant to part with. All of it had to fit into the small plane Erik had first used to fly them both back to the CIA headquarters, a task Charles was guiding from here and made good use of both his and Hank’s spatial reasoning skills. Raven, who had only returned from Westchester the night before, was helping Erik close up the safe house much as she had done the mansion.

Though perhaps slightly less permanently. Charles mentally reviewed the collection of luggage, hands tightening on the wheels of his chair as he realized once again how little of it belonged to Erik. He and Raven were twin quiet spots in his mind, his shields around them both a small price to pay for keeping them in his life, but Raven had been wonderfully upfront in her feelings about Genosha. She would go whether or not any of the rest of them came with her, a fact that Charles could only find comforting at the moment.

But Erik… he had been more self-contained than ever since their initial visit to Genosha. His dedication had not wavered, all of his formidable energies thrown squarely into the task of transporting them all to the island safely, but Charles got nothing of that warm glow of hope he’d picked up from Erik after he’d first pledged his support for the school. _You’re still insane. But yes, I’m with you._

The thought that Erik had changed his mind in the intervening days haunted Charles. He had no idea which would be more painful – that the other man had chained himself to them out of some sense of guilt or obligation, or that he would leave as soon as he saw them all safely to Genosha.

Reading Erik’s mind would be no help, even if the telepath hadn’t been following Raven’s advice to give the other man his privacy. Erik kept his secrets too well for the answer to be in the surface of his thoughts, and Charles couldn't visit those beautiful depths without express permission.

He wasn’t brave enough to ask.

As if called by the thought, Erik and Raven made their way outside. The bag over Raven’s shoulder bounced as she hurried toward her brother, radiating excitement with every footstep. “I’ll corral the rest of the boys into the back with me,” she said warmly, bending down to kiss his cheek as he rolled over to meet them. “Only fair that you get to ride shotgun.”

As she moved past him to start issuing orders, Erik approached at a much more relaxed pace. Unlike Raven, he didn’t have a bag over his shoulder, which meant that all he had packed was a very small amount of clothing. He was the only one with access to things he had owned before Cuba, and somehow he was still bringing less to Genosha than the rest of them.

Erik, unable to read Charles’s thoughts, saw enough of them on his face to raise an eyebrow. “We can sedate them all, if you’d like,” he said dryly. The telepath tried hard to tell himself he wasn’t hallucinating the warmth in his friend’s voice. “We’d have to delay our departure, but it might be beneficial to our sanity in the long run.”

Charles was distracted enough that it took him a second to realize what Erik meant. When he did, the corners of his mouth curved upward briefly. “No need. If I have to, I can put the boys to sleep myself.” Then, still not brave but unable to let the matter go entirely, he cleared his throat. “I noticed that you packed very little.”

Two small lines appeared between Erik’s brows. “I’ve always traveled light.”

“Of course.” Charles had seen that again and again in so many of the Erik’s memories, the other man pursuing his quest with little more than the clothes on his back. He hadn’t left much more than that back at the mansion, one more temporary stopover among the many that had made up Erik’s adult life.

Gathering his courage, Charles slowly inched out over the unsteady surface of what he wanted to say. “But … well, I was hoping you wouldn’t have the need to return here any time soon.” _At all_ , his mind corrected, but he kept that thought wrapped up tightly.

Erik looked confused, clearly not understanding what Charles was trying to say, and the telepath geared himself up for a second attempt. He stopped himself when his friend went absolutely still, as if whatever realization had just occurred had briefly overwhelmed all unnecessary functions. After a moment, Erik’s gaze turned back outward as he gave the other man a thoughtful, penetrating look. “We still can’t be certain Genosha will be safe, Charles,” he said quietly.

Understanding filled him. The island and its inhabitants seemed as reliable as anything could be, but Charles knew he had once held such hopes for the CIA. And Erik, who had seen everything he’d ever held dear ripped from his hands, did not dare let himself relax even as a new future shone in front of him. If he let himself reach for the thing he wanted more than anything, it would hurt too much when it was snatched away again.

It was a fear Charles understood all too well. He was putting a great deal of faith in Genosha, but it was Erik who could break him.

“Perhaps not.” He took a deep breath, making himself reach. “But I can promise you that I always will be.”

The silence that fell between them was complete, as if neither of them even dared draw air into their lungs. Then, without a word, Erik turned and marched back into the house.

Ignoring the hammering of his heart, Charles gripped the armrests of his chair and waited.

000

Erik stood unmoving in the middle of the house’s main room, willing his hands to stop shaking. He had been keeping a death grip on his emotions ever since their exploratory mission to Genosha, knowing that one of them needed to keep a cool head in case something went wrong. The people there needed them in a way the CIA had not – Charles’s telepathy was their only hope of keeping the island and the other mutants who lived there a secret – but it was too much for Erik to trust anyone but the four people who would be arriving with him.

And there was more to it than trust. A man like him had no business teaching children, let alone helping to run a school. Surely Charles would realize that at some point, and by extension realize that he had far less need of Erik than he’d thought. At that point, protection would be all he had to offer, and if the islanders rewarded the other man’s faith who knew if that would be enough? Better to be prepared, in case the worst happened.

He hadn’t imagined anyone had even noticed what he was doing, let alone that someone might actually _understand._  

_We still can’t be certain Genosha will be safe, Charles._

_Perhaps not. But I can promise you that I always will be._

Lifting his head, Erik surveyed the house with a critical eye. This house was one of his most private and best fortified, the thought of it undoubtedly part of the reason he had initially ordered Azazael to Madrid in the first place. He kept more supplies here than he did most of his other homes, but it was nothing that couldn’t be replaced. Even if he truly never needed to return here again – the possibility flickered through his chest like a spark of electricity – there was nothing here that he would miss.

Unbidden, a memory rose as if Charles had nudged it from the depths of his mind. Erik hesitated, feeling almost embarrassed, then went upstairs to one of the house’s innumerable secret compartments. There, in the back corner, was a simple gold-plated brass ring that had supposedly belonged to his grandfather. He had vague memories of a kindly older man wearing such a ring, but a part of him had never been able to entirely believe the story that Max Lensherr’s elderly gentile neighbor had told the lost, angry young man who had shown up at her door.

He never let himself think about why he had held onto it, all this time.

Wrapping his fingers around the ring, Erik closed his eyes and thought long and hard about what to do next. The wisest thing to do would be to simply leave it here. If the worst happened – and when had leaving Charles become the worst thing Erik could imagine? – it would still be here waiting for him. Perhaps hope would have betrayed him enough by then that he wouldn’t want it anymore.

He wondered, suddenly, if his grandfather would have liked Charles. Erik didn’t remember enough about him to even hazard a guess.

He opened his eyes, refusing to acknowledge that they were wet. Swiping his other hand across them to clear his vision, Erik looked down at the small circle of metal that may or may not be the only physical remnant he had left of his family. It shouldn’t matter to the man he’d spent years working hard to become.

But Charles shouldn’t matter to that man, either.

Straightening, Erik kept his thoughts carefully blank as he headed back downstairs and outside to where everyone else was waiting. Charles hadn’t moved, watching the door with an intensity so fierce it almost seemed to singe the air, and Erik floated the ring out of his hand and over to the other man. He couldn’t risk an explanation, not right now, and he hoped the other man would understand well enough not to ask.

Charles cupped his hands to accept the ring, the brief confusion on his face melting away into that supportive, kind expression that was always so dangerous. “It’s beautiful,” he said quietly, studying it with enough care that it made Erik’s throat tighten. After a moment, Charles held the ring back out as if to return it. “Thank you for letting me see it. I’m sure you can find someplace safe to keep it in Genosha.”

Erik shook his head. “No,” he said roughly, and for just a moment something that looked remarkably like pain spasmed across Charles’s face. Quickly – anything to get rid of that expression, though he couldn’t begin to understand what had caused it – Erik pushed the rest of the words out. “Not Genosha. You keep it safe for me.”

Charles went absolutely still, eyes shooting up to meet his, and for a moment the Erik was terrified that the other man had ended his self-imposed blockade and heard his feelings shouting out of him. Then the telepath blinked rapidly, fingers tightening around the ring as if determined to protect it from any danger.

In that moment, Erik would have done absolutely anything Charles asked.

They broke eye contact only when Hank approached, some sort of machine clutched in his furred arms. He stopped several feet away, looking back and forth between them as if he could suddenly sense that he’d interrupted something, then jumped a little at a distant shout. “Raven wanted me to tell you both we were ready to go,” he said, arms tightening around his device. “Is… is everything okay?”

Erik recovered first. “We’re fine,” he reassured Hank, making himself look anywhere but at Charles as the other man slid the ring onto his index finger. “We’ll be there shortly.”

“Yes,” Charles agreed, inhaling as if he’d only just remembered how to breathe.

After one last look at both of them, Hank headed back to the plane to relay his information. When he did, the man for whom he would move the world looked over at Erik with one of the most brilliant smiles he had ever seen. “Ready?”

Erik took one last look at the house, letting himself hope that he would never see it again. “Ready.”


	8. Chapter 8

Genosha was everything Charles had hoped it would be. The “magic children” were clearly mutants, though their generations of history called the entire “children of the atom” theory into question, and all it had taken to secure them a place here was making his introductions to the harbor master mentally.

Of course, the real work was only beginning. Raven had cheered when he’d first told her about his plans for the school, and once he and Erik had investigated the island she’d arranged to have anything useful from the mansion – and Hank’s lab – shipped over. Everything they owned was now in crates around their new, much smaller mansion, a relic left over from a French expatriate who had been one of the few to gain the locals’ trust. It was the only building in the island’s largest town big enough to accommodate a residential school, though one disadvantage was the fact that it had proven to be spectacularly unaccommodating to wheelchairs. There was, surprisingly enough, a single elevator, but Erik had taken one look at the mechanisms and forbidden Charles from getting anywhere near it until extensive repairs had been made.

From the sound of the truly creative cursing coming from that direction, the project wasn’t going well. Smiling slightly as Erik let loose a particularly colorful phrase in a mixture of German and French, Charles returned his attention to his attempts at creating at least a rudimentary curriculum for the school. From the response of their new neighbors, it seemed likely that their first students would range in age from seven years old all the way up to adults. And that didn’t take into account the ones Cerebro would find once Hank had finished converting the radar installation Erik had “borrowed” ….

He turned at the sound of someone knocking on the doorframe, smiling when he saw it was his sister. She’d been blue since the moment they’d set foot on the island, and it gave him a bittersweet pang to realize he’d never seen her happier. He should have helped her find what she needed a long time ago. “If you’re looking for Hank, he’s been holed up in the radar installation for a few hours now. At the moment, he seems to be thinking a great deal about ‘radial fragmentation,’ if I’m hearing him correctly.”

Raven smiled back at him as she dropped into the chair nearest his. “I was planning on going there next.” Her smile widened. “Hearing him talk all geeky turns me on.”

Charles groaned. “Please, be kind to my fragile decrepit mind. Little sisters aren’t supposed to have sex until they’re at _least_ in their mid-forties.”

Raven laughed. With the restlessness inside her eased, the closeness they’d enjoyed when they were younger seemed to be back in full force. Charles hoped she knew how much he cherished that. “Fine. I’ll leave you in your delusion.”

“Thank you.” Charles rolled his chair around to face his sister. “So, I take it things aren’t going well with the great construction project.”

“Let’s just say I think Erik wouldn’t mind if you went out and offered some encouragement.” She leaned forward slightly, as if studying him. “Of course, you could just tell him that from in here.”

His chest caught at the thought of speaking mind-to-mind with Erik again, but Charles kept his voice light as he raised an eyebrow at his sister. “Weren’t you the one who pointed out I wasn’t being terribly respectful of his mental privacy?”

“You weren’t.” She settled back into the seat, looking surprisingly solemn. “But I didn’t know how much you’d miss hearing him.”

Charles winced inwardly at hearing a truth he hadn’t quite been able to face, even inside his head. “He’s only a few dozen feet away, and being vocal enough I suspect I could hear him anywhere in the house.”

Briefly, her smile returned. “I know. Sean’s been writing down all of the French, German and Spanish down as well as he can, because even if he doesn’t know what it means it sounds _really_ impressive. And I think Alex is going to steal the list and ask you for a few translations.” Then her brow lowered. “But you know perfectly well that’s not what I meant.”

He swung the chair back around to the table he’d appropriated. “You’re being overly imaginative.”

“Or incredibly perceptive, which is my job since _someone_ has to know what the broody telepath is thinking.” Despite the teasing words, her tone was absolutely serious. “And when you look at Erik now and think no one else can see you, there’s this longing—“

“Stop.” The word was firm as he rolled back around to face his sister, carefully avoiding the sight of the ring on his finger. “There’s no point to this.”

“Yes, there is.” She leaned forward again. “Ask him if you can start listening to him again.”

“And say what? There hasn’t been a single practical reason to enter Erik’s mind since the beach.” The other man hadn’t even needed him when he was practicing using his powers, clearly having figured out how to get to that place between rage and serenity all on his own. Charles was both immensely proud of him and sad in a way that was desperately unwise. “It’s best to leave things just as they are.”

Raven cocked her head slightly, watching him. “I know you’ve gone deep-diving in other people’s heads before. Your parents didn’t even _blink_ at the fact that they’d suddenly adopted a daughter and just hadn’t finished all the paperwork yet, and for the whole rest of their lives there didn’t seem to be a moment when they questioned me in the slightest.”

Charles’ jaw tightened. He’d had missiles pointed at him and become partially paralyzed, and yet somehow neither memory managed to be quite as unpleasant as going deeply into his mother’s and stepfather’s minds. They’d been cold all the way through, enough to strip away what little self-delusion he’d had left.

But Erik … there was such beauty in his mind, despite all the broken places. It frustrated him even now that he didn’t have the words to describe it properly, words that would somehow make Erik believe it was there.

Simply being next to the man was wonderful. Necessary. But being able to _sense_ him, too….

Something in Charles’ face betrayed him, making Raven’s own expression soften. “I’ve never seen you like this about anyone before. I don’t know if I’m happy or terrified for you.” She walked over, pressing a kiss against the top of his head. “If it helps, I’m pretty sure he misses you just as much. But you’ve got to _say_ something. The rest of us can’t read minds.”

With that, she left him to his books.

000

“I still think you should just let me use my powers to lift your chair up the steps for the rest of our lives. I am _certain_ it would be easier that wrestling with that demon beast of an elevator.”

Charles lifted his head to look up at Erik as the other man dragged a chair closer, sitting down in it only when it was next to the table Charles was using. The telepath smiled, pushing his conversation with Raven to the back of his mind as he turned to his friend. The ring Erik had left in his charge felt fractionally warmer, as if sensing the presence of its true owner. “You’d regret it in a week.”

Erik dropped his head against the back of the chair. “If I did, all you’d have to do is say the word ‘elevator.’ Not only am I fairly sure it’s sentient, but it’s also very, very angry.”

Charles laughed. “Maybe I should talk to it.” He hesitated at Erik’s suddenly intent expression. “Come on. You don’t really think it’s sentient, do you?”

The corner of Erik’s mouth curved upward a little as he shook his head. “No. I just can’t remember the last time I heard you laugh.”

Charles looked away as his sister’s words rose up again, completely ignoring his wishes. _You’ve got to say something. The rest of us can’t read minds._ “We’ve been busy, if you recall.”

“I do.” Erik straightened. “But there _has_ been something, these last few weeks. Don’t try to deny it.”

He and Raven might has well have _been_ telepaths, given how easily they seemed able to read Charles at the most inconvenient moments. “Now you’re the one checking the morale of the troops? I’m fine, Erik. I promise.”

The other man’s expression went solemn, and there was a flash of hesitation in his eyes. “Are you starting to question the school?”

“No.” Charles laid his hand on Erik’s arm, unwilling to let him entertain the possibility even for a moment. He knew how painful that particular fear could be. “Absolutely not.”

“Then what is it?” Erik’s gaze was steady.

There was no safe way out of the conversation. A bald-faced lie ran the risk of not being believable, which would only hurt Erik. Mentioning his legs, the only other answer that wouldn’t be an outright lie, led to an equally painful discussion.

He moved his arm, breaking their connected gaze as he turned back to the table. Then he took a deep breath, letting the words out all at once. “I miss feeling you in my mind.”

The silence that fell was staggering, and Charles closed his eyes and cursed himself for being an idiot in every language he knew. “Ignore me. I’m sure I just—“

“Why?”

The world was so soft he could barely hear it, with only the faintest waver to hint at the pressure it was holding back. It was enough to stop Charles’ heart for a moment, emotion wrapping around it so tightly he knew he could never escape.

He opened his eyes to meet Erik’s, swallowing at the storm he saw there. “There’s so much warmth inside you, Erik. You have this _immense_ capacity to love, even though you can’t see it yourself, and when I touch it I...” He voice caught on the words he never thought he’d admit to anyone. “… I pretend some of it could be for me….”

Anything else he might have said was swallowed up when Erik’s mouth covered his, pulling him into a kiss consuming enough to fill up the entire world. Charles let himself fall into it, questions of sexual preference rendered irrelevant by the rush of heat and sheer blind need, guided into a blaze by a tenderness that could steal a man’s heart if he wasn’t careful. Charles hadn’t been careful, but right now that felt like the best decision he’d made in his life.

When they broke apart, Erik leaned his forehead against Charles’. “I can’t believe you haven’t seen it,” he rasped, eyes still closed. “Look harder, verdammt. Don’t make me find the words.”

Charles slipped inside Erik’s mind, staggered by the depth of need and devotion he could feel flowing through the other man. Enough to last a person a thousand lifetimes, and all of it for one desperately lonely telepath.

Tears filled Charles’ eyes. _I love you_ , he told Erik mentally, projecting all of the emotion behind the words as he leaned forward for another kiss. He would make sure Erik felt the truth of that love through every fiber of his being. Even if it took the rest of their lives.


	9. Chapter 9

_I love you._

Feeling crashed through Erik, a heady mix of _awe-tenderness-need-hope-hunger-love_ that felt like an explosion of everything he’d locked away in the deepest part of his heart. But then he sensed his own name at the heart of it, shaped as if it was something precious, and it was a far greater explosion inside him to realize the feelings were coming from _Charles._

Stunned, shaken, Erik broke the kiss to stare at the other man with wet eyes. He couldn’t seem to make his vocal chords work right. “Charles….”

Charles looked suddenly uncertain. “I’m sorry if that was … too loud, or if…. It’s been years since I projected my own feelings….” The words trailed off as he slowly became aware of what Erik was truly feeling, the hesitancy melting away to be replaced by astonishment. “Oh,” he breathed, his own eyes filling again. “Oh, my love.”

Erik swallowed, doing his best to project the words rather than trust his voice again. _I knew  I mattered to you. I just … I never dreamed…._ The tears had made their way to his cheeks now, his heart so full it felt like it physically ached.

Charles took Erik’s face in his hands, pulling his head down so that their foreheads touched. _Nor did I_ , he sent, each word filled with his own helpless wonder at first sensing Erik's devotion.  _But I’m yours, Erik. Body and soul._

The words broke something inside Erik, and he reached for Charles with the desperation of a man gasping for air. Their mouths crushed together, heat and light that burned through Erik like a cleansing fire, but no matter how close they were Charles was still _too far away_. He pushed Charles’s chair into the right position, only his iron control keeping the motion gentle, then pulled the telepath into his lap and deepened the kiss.

There was a burst of surprise from Charles, then the shimmer of what felt like laughter, and Erik felt like they were finally close enough that he could breathe again. He made himself slow down, take the necessary time to memorize the inside of Charles’s mouth, savoring the way his own nerves sparked at every long, thorough stroke of the other man’s tongue. Pleasure lapped at him from all sides, carrying the distinct taste of both of them. When he yanked Charles' shirt out of his waistband, giving him the necessary access to slide a hand up deliciously bare skin, Erik felt Charles’s shiver echo through him like the most wonderful hall of mirrors ever invented.

This time, it was Charles who broke the kiss with a mental curse. “Sorry,” he gasped, and the part of Erik still capable of rational thought was annoyed at the way Charles kept apologizing for such breathtakingly beautiful things. “Normally my shields are better than that. I should….”

“No,” Erik growled against Charles’s neck, pushing an absolutely ridiculous surge of panic back down as he tightened his arms around the other man. “Don’t you dare shut me out of your mind. Not now.”

Charles went absolutely still, radiating caution and something Erik couldn’t quite read. “I’m still half inside your mind, which means my shields aren’t filtering the way they’re supposed to.” He laughed breathily against Erik's hair, the sound accompanied by a tendril of delighted satisfaction that made yearning coil in his insides. “If I don’t fix them, there’s a chance everyone in the building will be able to sense what you do to me, in painfully graphic detail.”

Erik breathed in Charles’s scent, trying to make himself think. He knew Charles had a point, but he hated the thought of letting any kind of distance slip between them. “Can your shield go around both of us?”

Surprise, now, for more than just the suggestion itself. “Are you sure?” Charles hesitated. “You’d get … everything.”

He knew there was something more that Charles was holding back, but Erik was horrifically unequipped to talk about feelings. Instead, he used his powers to undo Charles’s belt buckle and slipped a hand down to the heated skin beneath. Charles made a helpless sound, low in his throat, and Erik grinned. “I thought I’ve made my opinion on the matter pretty clear,” he murmured. “I want _everything_.”

“I see.” Charles sounded slightly strangled. _If you could just stop being so tempting for a few seconds so I could concentrate…._

Suddenly, the world opened up inside Erik’s mind. Specifically, it filled with Charles, as if he held the other man’s mind as closely as he did his body. Charles’s thoughts were full of _yearning-wonder-joy_ , with fear flickering beneath like the edge of a sharp blade. _I can change it back if it’s too much…._

 _Don’t you dare._ Erik’s mental voice contained the same growl as he moved both hands to bare skin, reveling in the feeling of being surrounded by Charles inside and out. He turned his attention to the telepath’s neck, using their connected thoughts to find just the right spot as Charles sought bare skin.

Charles slid both hands underneath the fabric, smoothing his hands up the sides of Erik’s body as if he were mapping it by touch. His palms carefully traced each slope of muscle, lingering over scars as if wanting to sooth away the old wounds. The hands left a trail of fire in their wake, the tenderness undoing Erik almost as much as the physical contact, and suddenly the amount of clothes they were both still wearing was intolerable.

Charles caught the thought, his hands stilling. _This isn’t the best venue to let me undress you properly._

 _Nor I you._ Reluctantly, he lifted his head. _I presume you can deflect everyone’s attention long enough for us to make our way to your bedroom?_

 _They’ll forget about us for the rest of the night._ This was a wicked smile, one he’d never seen on Charles before, and it made Erik’s entire body tighten in anticipation. _If you’ll just see me to my chair, good sir?_

Erik grinned as he adjusted his grip. _I have a better idea._ Charles’s eyes widened, clearly sensing his intention only an instant before Erik stood up with the telepath in his arms. When he shifted his hold again, settling Charles more comfortably into a bridal carry, the telepath bit back a yelp and clutched at him. Erik immediately repeated the movement just to make Charles do it again.

 _Stop that_ , Charles said firmly, trying for stern but ending up somewhere in the vicinity of what even Erik was forced to describe as adorable. A blush heated Charles’s cheeks at the thought, the taste of it in their minds a mixture of _embarrassed-charmed_.

Even when Erik obliged, Charles thankfully didn’t stop clutching at him. _If you even think about doing this where the children can see_ , he sent, raising an eyebrow, _I will be forced to be equally public with the most abominable pet names I can conjure up._

Erik laughed. He’d forgotten how, before Charles had come into his life. _I can live with that._


	10. Chapter 10

Raven loved Genosha. No smaller word was enough to encompass neighbors who saw no difference between her blue face and Charles’ pale one, or a house filled with squabbling and laughter in equal measure. She’d always had Charles, but now they both had a real home.

And, she thought as she pushed open the door to the radar installation, people to care about. Hank was redesigning Cerebro so the interface would be on the main floor – Charles, after all, was the one who needed to access it – and the first thing she saw was their resident genius sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded by wires and computer parts. He was also muttering to himself, and when Raven caught the words “radial fragmentation,” she smiled. Charles had been right.

Thought of her brother made her expression slip briefly, fingers tightening on the edge of the doorway. He needed to tell Erik. She would make him if she had to, for his own good. But if she’d read the other man wrong, if he didn’t appreciate how huge it was that Charles was finally risking his heart for someone …. Well, she’d have to do something.

It was that exact moment when Hank looked up, eyes lighting when he saw her. She quickly smiled back at him, wiping away whatever expression must have been on her face, but he caught enough of it that his brow lowered. “Is everything all right?”

“Just thinking too hard.” She moved towards him, inspiring him to hastily clear away a spot so she could sit down across from him. She’d started flirting again ever since that moment in Erik’s house in Spain, and the fact that he’d been so actively responding to it warmed her. “What are you working on?”

Hank sighed. “Right now, I’m trying to modify the market-grade shortwave receptors to interface with the—” He caught himself, shooting her a skeptical look. “Do you _really_ want to know all this?”

Dropping down next to him, she pressed a kiss against his furry cheek. “I probably won’t understand most of it, but yes.”

He launched into a long explanation of why the piece of technology in question was currently thwarting him, and Raven sat back and let herself just watch the animation on his face. It was one of the first things that had drawn her to him, this passion he had for things that were beyond most people’s understanding, and she wondered again what it would be like to have that passion directed at her. She wouldn’t want to pull him away from science, but the thought of mattering just as much….

As if he could read her mind – the faint alarm she felt at the thought meant that she’d lived with Charles too long – Hank suddenly stopped his explanation and gave her a searching look. “Something _is_ wrong,” he said finally, brow lowering as her eyes widened. “Whatever it is, you know you can talk to me, right?” Then he hesitated, gaze escaping down to the circuit board in his hands. “If you wanted to, of course.”

Raven’s chest tightened. Generally, it took something as big as a missile crisis to distract him from science, and it meant so much that he was watching her closely enough to notice every time her expression changed. She couldn’t tell him that she’d been wondering if he could love her – she needed to keep _some_ of her dignity – but she could tell him what she’d been thinking earlier. Not all of it – some secrets weren’t hers to share – but enough that Hank would understand. “I’m pretty sure Charles is in love, and I’m worrying that the other person won’t appreciate it like she should.” Raven had lied often enough in her life that she hadn’t even paused before using the wrong pronoun. “I don’t want to see him hurt.”

Hank blinked, surprised, then seemed to give the matter some serious thought. “I can’t beat up a girl, but if you end up needing to I can hold off her brothers for you.”

Raven laughed, squeezing his leg. “I might hold you to that.”

“Or everything might work out, and neither of us will need to beat up anybody.” His smile was soft as his hand traced the curve of her cheek. “Being in love has turned out to be pretty nice. It might be that way for your brother, too.”

It took a moment for everything he’d said to sink in, but once it did Raven’s breath caught. “Being in love?” she whispered.

There was a heartbeat of confusion on his face, then Hank’s eyes widened. For a second neither of them moved, frozen, then he took a deep breath. “Did I just stick my foot in my mouth again?”

The only acceptable response to that was to close the distance between them and kiss him, arms around his neck and holding absolutely nothing back. Even with his new strength they both went backwards, a tangle of tongues and teeth and heat that danced like electricity all up and down her nerves. Hank held on just as hard as she was, giving as good as he got, and if the door had been shut and there had been just a little bit more room on the floor she would have been happy to spend the rest of the evening there.

As it was, they broke the kiss when oxygen became an issue. “Does that answer your question?” she asked, grinning down at Hank’s dazed expression.

He blinked, then grinned back at her. “I think so.”

“Good.” She leaned close again. “And you’re right,” she whispered. “Being in love has turned out to be pretty nice.”

Hank’s eyes told her everything she needed to know as he pulled her down for another kiss.


	11. Chapter 11

Erik hated waking up.

Obsession was his shield, a wall of flame he wrapped around himself to keep the darkness at bay. It kept him moving during the daylight hours, burning strong enough that he could usually keep treacherous sleep to a bare minimum. When he was awake and aware, he could make absolutely certain that revenge was all he saw.

But when he first woke up, it took a few precious seconds for his mind to remember that. For that infinitesimal slice of time, he could feel each and every one of the raw, bleeding places that had never scabbed over as they should have. He could see how cold the future was, the nothingness that waited once the fire burned out. He was good only for fuel.

It took him only another breath to regain control. By then, it felt like an eternity.

If he could, he would never sleep again.

000

The morning after he found out Charles loved him, however, all Erik could feel was warmth.

He opened his eyes, too in awe to even be embarrassed by the fact that they were wet. Charles was sprawled across his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around Erik. As if, even in sleep, the telepath had worried that the other man might try to sneak away in the middle of the night.

As if he didn’t own Erik just as surely as he felt Erik owned him.

_I’m yours, Erik. Body and soul._

Even the darkness stood no chance again Charles. He was still tangled up in Erik’s mind from the night before, the feel of his thoughts as warm and sure as the weight of his body. Memories of last night’s passion flickered through their joined minds like caresses, each infused with more emotion than Erik had ever believed could be directed at him.

_I love you._

Erik hadn’t returned the words – that required far more bravery than he possessed – but he’d done everything he could to project the sometimes terrifying depth of devotion he felt for Charles. He hoped the other man had found in it something like the warmth Erik was feeling now, the dark places inside him glowing like sunlight through the slats in an abandoned building.

_You have this immense capacity to love, even though you can’t see it yourself, and when I touch it … I pretend some of it could be for me…._

He threaded his fingers through Charles’s hair, rubbing his chin against its softness. He couldn’t imagine what the other man thought he saw in Erik’s mind – any goodness there was Charles’s creation, as surely as the school was – but he was welcome to anything Erik had. Anything he was.

Erik was good only for fuel. But he would help Charles burn brightly enough that the entire world could see it.

This time, Charles’s voice was more than memory. _I would much rather we both sit comfortably by the fire together._

Erik couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from curling upward as Charles propped himself up on his forearms. He traced a long, slow line down the telepath’s neck and arm, enjoying the shiver of pleasure underneath his fingertips and echoing in his mind. “Already planning our retirement, engel?”

Charles flushed slightly as he read the meaning of the endearment from Erik’s mind, then his eyes widened. Erik caught only the feeling of embarrassment, which made no sense – surely last night had dismantled any propriety between them. “Forgive me,” Charles said, pushing himself sideways and off of Erik. “I know you gave me permission last night, but there’s no excuse for me to still—”

It was only when Erik felt the faint chill slide through his mind that he realized that Charles was trying to separate their minds completely. “No.” The single world held too much of his desperation in it, but he’d lost all ability to hide when it came to Charles. _Don’t. Not … not yet._

The other man had gone absolutely still, gaze hungry enough that the sudden panic inside Erik’s chest eased. _You’re not…._ A pause, and Erik could feel the astonishment and fragile, naked hope in the other man. _You want me to stay?_

It was only then that Erik remembered that they hadn’t actually talked about _this_ part of things, too wrapped up in the discovery of their mutual emotions to touch on the circumstances that had brought about the revelation in the first place.

He’d promised Charles everything, even truths that had no place in the light.

“I have nothing to hide from you, anymore,” he admitted quietly, the words as much a warning as they were a promise. A part of him still couldn’t quite believe that Charles understood the true nature of the man he’d claimed. “If it were up to me, I would never let you leave.”

At that, Charles nearly flung himself at Erik, swallowing him up in a kiss and a rush of emotion that crashed together into a single, consuming experience. Erik wrapped his arms around Charles and let himself fall, lost in the wet slide of his dangerous, dangerous tongue and the _relief-joy-love_ singing through his mind. Charles’s warmth was a living thing, stronger than either the darkness or the fire that had been his companions for so long.

Rolling them both so he would have more maneuverability, Erik started kissing his way down Charles’s neck. The telepath’s fingers gripped his shoulders hard enough to leave marks, even his thoughts breathless. _I could spend a lifetime in your mind, Erik, and never want for anything else. I swear I’ll never give you cause to regret—_

Another kiss cut off such a ridiculous thought.

000

After, Erik slipped up to his own room for a change of clothes. Clearly, he would need to start leaving a set downstairs on a permanent basis, but last night he’d been too wrapped up in Charles to plan ahead.

He met Raven on the stairs, wearing a tank top and denim shorts in deference to her brother’s sensibilities, and gave her a nod before slipping past her. He knew she was intelligent enough to put together his direction with the fact that he was wearing yesterday’s clothing, and he wasn’t about to hide his relationship with Charles. Still, it seemed wisest to give her as little time as possible to dwell on any of this before they’d worked out the best way to broach the matter to the students.

Raven had simply returned the nod as he went by, but he’d only gone a few steps before his powers sensed her stop and turn around. “Erik!”

Briefly considering whether or not to simply quicken his pace, he gave in and turned around as well. “Yes, Raven?”

She gave him a shrewd once-over, then met his eyes with a penetrating look. A moment later, she grinned. “You appreciated it,” she said, clearly delighted. Then, without another word, she turned back around and heading down the stairs.

Bemused, Erik watched her go. _I take it your sister approves?_

He could sense Charles, who had wanted privacy for the more awkward parts of the dressing process, stop what he was doing. _She may have been the one who encouraged me to talk to you in the first place._

This time, it was Erik’s turn to grin. _I knew there was a reason I liked her._


	12. Chapter 12

When you were a telepath, the etiquette of spending the night with someone was far more complex than which side of the bed to take and what to do about unexpected snoring. Even the best mental shielding was weaker when the person was unconscious, and Charles had never been certain enough that he could fully block out the dreams and nightmares of the person sleeping next to him. Or, for that matter, keep his own dreams and nightmares from leaking over – being chased by violent mobs or locked in a laboratory cage was not the best way to cap off an otherwise perfectly pleasant one-night stand.

So he’d been careful never to stay the night with any of the women he’d been with, a policy that had effectively kept the problem from ever arising. But then Erik had kissed him, a kiss that had led to a great deal more as soon as they’d been sure of their privacy, and the thought of leaving the other man’s side for any reason was unfathomable. He tried to shield the best he could, focusing more on protecting Erik than himself, and gave himself over to the risk.

As the nights passed, all that came were sweet dreams and soothing quiet. Given the scars they both carried, however, nightmares were inevitable.

000

_“Now this is what we will do. I count to three, and you move the coin.”_

_Charles remembered the words, even thought it wasn’t his memory. He remembered the office with its cool white walls, the room of terrors waiting silently on the other side of the glass. And, though his perspective of the scene had never before included the little boy standing on the other side of Shaw’s desk, he knew exactly who it was._

_“If you do not move the coin, I pull the trigger.” Shaw pointed the gun at Charles’ forehead, which was far higher than it should be if he’d been in his wheelchair, and the telepath realized suddenly that he’d taken the position of Erik’s mother. “Do you understand?”_

_As Erik extended his shaking hands, Charles realized he was caught in a nightmare rather than a memory. Given the waves of terror coming from the little boy, he couldn’t imagine it was his. “Wake up, Erik! None of this is real!”_

_Neither Erik nor Shaw seemed to hear him. “One.”_

_“Erik.” He focused on the other man, trying to reach through the tangle of nightmare, sleep and memory. “Shaw is dead. All of this happened years ago. You’re not really here.”_

_The little boy turned to look at him with the eyes of the man he knew. “Charles!”_

_“Two.”_

_“Wake up, Erik.” He fought the grip of the guards that held him. “We’re in bed together. In Genosha. I swear to you, I’ll be right by your side the moment you open your eyes. You just need to wake up.”_

_He didn’t fear dying in the dream – he’d done it enough in his own. But he didn’t want Erik to have to see it._

_“Three.”_

_Shaw pulled the trigger, and the bullet flew—_

Charles jerked his eyes open, knocked free of the nightmare, and immediately pulled Erik into his arms. Their minds were still merged a little, Charles’ subconscious unfortunately not recognizing that Erik should be on the *opposite* side of his shields, and rather than pull away the telepath used it as one more embrace. _It’s okay,_ he said mentally, pushing as much peace and comfort into Erik’s mind as he could. _It’s okay._

The other man, already awake, held on tightly and buried his face against Charles’ neck. “You need to block me.” Erik’s voice was rough with self-recrimination and remembered terror. “Either that, or make me leave after. I need to be far enough away not to drag you in with me.”

“No.” Charles tightened his arms around Erik. “I’m not leaving you alone in that.” He rubbed a soothing hand up and down the other man’s back. “Was I there only because we were connected?”

“No.” Erik let out a long, shaky breath. “That special variant has appeared ever since you took the bullet for me in Cuba. That, and one where I deflect the bullet straight into your spine.”

Charles stared up at his darkened ceiling, remembering his own recent nightmare set on the beach. Of letting Erik and Mystique walk away without a fight, without even arguing or trying to find some middle ground they could stand on together. Leaving him alone in a way that even in the nightmare he knew would never really be healed. “Mine are different,” he said quietly, mind pulling away from the false memory. It would come up, probably – he couldn’t keep Erik out of his nightmares without abandoning him to his own. But not yet. “I should warn you. There’s a very good chance I might drag you into an angry mob at some point.”

Erik lifted his head at that, looking down into Charles’ eyes as if he suddenly understood something. “I’ll kill them all for you,” he murmured, smoothing his hand along the curve of the telepath’s cheek.

Charles caught Erik’s fingers, pressing a kiss against them. Even in a dreamworld, it made Charles’s chest tighten to be the focus of such fierce protectiveness. “You say the sweetest things.”

Erik huffed out a surprised laugh, bending down to capture Charles’ mouth in another kiss. “It should probably worry you that you recognize that.”


	13. Chapter 13

Hank was trying hard to get better with people, studying them with the same level of attention he devoted to circuits and cells. He loved the Professor's idea for a school, wanted to be a part of it more than anything, and knew he couldn't make another mistake like he had with Raven. He had too much to lose, now.

Which was why it was slightly embarrassing, then, that it took almost a week for him to realize that it wasn't some faceless island girl Charles was in love with. 

He was thinking about it when he followed Raven to the beach, standing knee-deep in the water while he watched her swim around and turn into different marine life. He loved watching her like this just as much as he did when she was two-footed and blue – she was like science, but somehow better – but today he had other things on his mind.

Eventually, she swum back to him, transforming from an otter – obviously not native to these waters – to a beautiful blue girl lazily floating on her back. "You are _definitely_ thinking too hard," she said lightly, paddling in a slow circle around him before playfully hooking a hand around his leg. "Cerebro giving you trouble?"

Hank took a deep breath, looking down at her. "You were talking about Mr. Lensherr, weren't you? When you said the Professor was in love with someone?"

Her expression instantly closed, and she kicked away and regained her footing in a gesture that shouldn't have flowed as smoothly as it did. "Why are you asking?" The words were too cold for the sunshine as she shifted her posture, unconsciously moving into a defensive position.

He knew why. He'd already betrayed her trust once, pushing away beauty because he'd been ashamed of himself, and she was afraid he'd do it again. But once you'd accepted the fact that you would never be like everyone else, what was one more difference?

Besides, making peace with those differences had left him happier than he'd been in a very long time. If the Professor had found that kind of happiness, who was he to say anything?

Not sure how to put words to any of that, he shrugged. "I don't want to walk in on them naked?"

She stared at him for another second, still no expression on her face, then she burst out laughing. "Don't worry about that," she said finally, her entire body relaxing as she moved toward him. "Charles has been using his 'go away' shields on the three of you all week while they work out how to tell you." She leaned against him, wrapping her arms around his middle and snuggling in. "I think they're going to tell everyone tonight."

Hank wrapped his arms around her, feeling infinitely grateful for any number of things. "Hopefully, they'll react well enough you won't have to kill them."

He felt Raven smile against his shirt. "We can hope."

000

That night, when they all sat down to dinner, the Professor held up a hand to speak. "Erik and I have been attempting to determine the best way to discuss something with the three of you, but we can't agree on the most appropriate terminology." He smiled slightly. "We decided that a demonstration would be simplest."

Hank couldn't stop the tickle of panic at the thought – Raven had told him stories about her brother's college years – and the Professor's eyes widened a fraction as he turned to him. A second later, his lips curved. _I assure you, Hank, that I will restrain myself in at least this one instance._ As Hank heard the telepathic message, Mr. Lensherr's smile twitched into existence for a few moments.

When he relaxed, Raven patted his knee. "You're a complete dork," she whispered in his ear.

"Maybe, but I'm your dork," he whispered back.

She kissed his cheek. "Yes, you are."

Sean, taking all of this in, jumped out of his seat and jabbed a triumphant finger in the air. "I knew it!" He pointed at the Professor and Mr. Lensherr. "You two are doing the Wild Thing!"

Alex, glaring nearly as deeply as their co-headmaster, immediately hit him in the leg. "We're supposed to _share_ information, jerk!"

The Professor sighed. "Not quite how I would have put it, but yes."

Mr. Lensherr glared. "We are in _love_ ," he corrected, earning a pleased smile from the Professor. "And we will not hide the more physical aspects of our relationship." He looked at both Sean and Alex, the Professor apparently having told him that Hank was no longer in the 'needs to be threatened with implied death' category. "Anyone who has a problem with that may leave now."

Sean held his hands up. "Hey, that's not me. Leaves more ladies for the rest of us." He dropped down into his seat, then grinned at the Professor. "Besides, I'm pretty sure the Prof's the only person with the power make Mr. Scowly slightly less terrifying."

Mr. Lensherr's glare softened ever so slightly. "Call me that again and I'm hanging you upside down from the roof for—" He stopped, glancing over at the Professor, and Hank realized they were having another mental conversation. "—24 hours."

Sean's expression didn't change. "Could be interesting."

Everyone's attention turned to Alex. He could practically feel the heat generated by the death glare Raven was shooting him, but Alex's attention was only for their co-headmasters. Finally, he gave a small, sharp nod. "It's fine if it's you guys," he muttered, then looked back down at his dinner.

The Professor didn't say anything for a moment, then he relaxed. "Fair enough." His hand moved as if he was patting Mr. Lensherr on the leg, something about the gesture making Hank think he was gently restraining Mr. Lensherr from violence. Hank glanced over at Raven out of the corner of his eye, wondering if he should ask the other man for some pointers.

The Professor looked over at him with a small smile. _I'm afraid I'm learning as I go as well, though I would be happy to offer any advice I have._ Then he turned back to the rest of the table. "Now, everyone, shall we eat?"

Hank felt himself smiling as Raven passed him the salad.


	14. Chapter 14

With the wide range of powers the students possessed, Charles was having trouble coming up with group classes that were of real use to anyone. The best work still occurred on a one-on-one basis, though now there were five other teachers assisting him with the training.

The help was welcome, since each student essentially required that he start from scratch.

“See?” Alisa said, voice high and panicked as she held up what appeared to be stumps of her arms. The 12-year-old girl had perfectly functional hands – it was the sporadic nature of her invisibility powers that was the current source of her distress. “Every time I get one part of me to come back, something else disappears!”

“I know,” Charles said soothingly, catching the girl’s invisible hands in his. The warmth and gentle pressure was enough to make them re-appear, but the invisibility simply transferred to her lower arms. Charles felt it best not to bring this to Alisa’s attention. “Remember what I said? You need to calm your mind.”

“It’s not working.” The girl took deep breaths, clearly trying to settle her nerves, but the risk of hyperventilation was close. Charles resisted the urge to reach into the girl’s mind and calm her down himself – she would never truly master her powers if she didn’t learn to do this on her own.

“It’s harder now because you’re locked into a panic spiral. Fear causes your powers to malfunction, which makes you even more afraid.” He let go of the girl’s hands, rolling his chair back slightly. There had been more than once over the last few months when he’d wished he’d gotten his doctorate in psychology instead of genetics, but he knew all too well what it was like to be afraid. “Which means that the only way to calm your mind is to stop thinking about your invisibility entirely.”

Alisa nodded, squeezing her eyes shut. After a second, she opened them. “Can you hold my hands again?”

Smiling slightly, Charles moved closer and did as she asked. “Now slow your breathing, and go to that peaceful place in your mind we discussed.” After a moment Alisa’s breathing slowed, and Charles skimmed the surface of her mind just enough to see her standing in perfectly still, brilliant blue water. “Let me know when you’re ready.”

She nodded, still not speaking, and Charles let his own mind wander to the man and young girl at the back of the house. Erik still preferred more physical lessons, though he’d refined his technique since pushing Sean off the satellite dish. Still, he’d been prepared to catch Sean the whole time if that particular lesson hadn’t proven effective, and that same underlying care and control were a constant presence in Erik’s teaching.

_“Do a bigger one this time,” Joanna said, determination radiating out of her. Through Erik’s eyes he could see her crouched down slightly, as if preparing for battle. “I’m ready.”_

_“We’re not focusing on size right now.” Erik counseled, using his powers to move the rock just out of the girl’s field of vision. He manipulated trace metals now as easily as iron and steel, and in certain areas it was entirely possible that he could topple mountains. “What matters is that you see the threat coming and arm yourself in time.”_

_“If I’m fighting somebody, I’ll just have my steel skin on all the time.” Determination had slid into stubbornness by this point. “That way, it won’t matter what comes at me.”_

_“True, but what if your enemy doesn’t announce himself?” As he spoke, he moved the rock so that it was barely in Joanna’s peripheral vision, then sent it winging toward her shoulder. The girl’s head whirled toward it, her steel skin activating barely in time to cover her arm._

_“Good. Now let’s see if you can react more quickly.”_ Then Charles heard Erik’s mental voice, which was always slightly more rich and warm than his actual one. _Letting your mind wander again, engel? Aren’t you supposed to be working with Alisa?_

 _She’s locating her peaceful place. I have a few moments._ He sent a wave of love along their link. _You do know she’s trying to impress you so you’ll fly her again, right?_

Erik’s smirk was affectionate. It turned out that the other man’s powers worked just as well on the living steel that was an integral part of Joanna’s powers, which meant that he could fly the girl around like Peter Pan as a reward. He never said anything, but Erik seemed to enjoy it as much as Joanna did. _I didn’t need telepathy to tell me that._

“I’m ready.”

Charles returned to the physical moment, blinking in surprise to see that the girl in front of him had gone completely invisible. Well, that hadn’t been _quite_ the reaction he’d been anticipating.

“Is everything all right?” There was no fear in the girl’s voice, and a quick look inside her mind made it clear that she was too focused on him to look down.

“Of course,” he said easily, grateful for his habitual ability to keep his emotions off his face. “I’m afraid I was distracted a bit by talking to Mr. Lensherr.” Now that he thought about it, this could be just the mental framework Alisa needed. “Good. Now, I want you to imagine leaving the water and walking slowly back into this moment. Can you do that?”

Though he couldn’t see her nod, he sensed her assent. Slowly, her invisibility melted away.

Charles smiled. When she focused, Alisa was a remarkably quick learner. “Good. Now go back to your place again.”

She nodded, and just as gradually faded again. “Like this, Professor?”

It seemed like a lifetime ago that he’d asked Raven not to call him by the nickname, back when children were as much an impossibility in his life as being open about his powers. Naturally, she’d immediately taught it to every one of their students.

These days, it felt like a badge of honor, his place in a world he once hadn’t believed possible.

“Exactly like that. Now, I want you to look down at your arms.”

He heard her gasp, but her brief distress eased when he sent her assuring thoughts. “Now, I want you to walk back into the moment, still looking down at your arms.” When he felt her hesitate, he squeezed her hands. “The results don’t matter. Simply focus on the task.”

Slowly, she appeared again. This time, her gasp was happy as she looked up at Charles. “I did it!”

“Yes, you did.” He smiled again. “Now, I want you to practice that for the rest of the evening until it comes easily to you. Then we’ll work on the next step.”

“Of course.” Suddenly, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you for helping me.”

Touched, he hugged her back. “I just showed you what you were capable of.” 


	15. Chapter 15

Charles finished the last sip of his Rooibos tea, listening to the sound of the water lapping against the shore. Sahondra’s front porch was nearly the size of the house, mostly to take advantage of the sound, and over the last few months Charles had grown rather fond of it. Apparently, Cuba hadn’t managed to cure him of beaches forever.

 _Told you, boy. Water’s stronger than bad memories._ The old woman punctuated the telepathic message with a wry expression, pouring herself another cup. _Should get your man to take you swimming._

Charles repressed an audible snort at the image, but it was clear in his mind. _Oh yes, public sex in the ocean. That will do wonders for my image as a responsible schoolteacher._

Sahondra cackled, the first sound either of them had made since Erik had left. _You’ve got a dirty mind on you, boy._

Charles smiled. _I’m simply aware of my personal weaknesses._ He watched her, sobering. She looked far more tired than last time he’d seen her. _You could visit the school, you know. You would be welcome._

Sahondra was silent for a long moment, staring out at the water. Charles had begun the visits when he’d agreed to take over shielding responsibilities for the island, a duty the old woman had borne since the last Genoshan telepath had died almost 20 years earlier. He continued them because he appreciated Sahondra’s company, and because he’d discovered there were things telepaths understood about each other without needing to even think the words.

Finally, she took a sip of her tea. _No._ It was her usual answer to the offer. _Don’t know what I’ll do if I hear people again._

Sahondra’s husband had died five years before, ending a relationship that her memories suggested was as close and warm as Charles wanted his and Erik’s own relationship to remain. They’d had no children, and no one had protested when she’d moved out here a few months later. Since then, she’d spoken to only a handful of people.

 _Nothing will have changed._ It was much harder to lie in your mind, especially to another telepath. _You’re merely out of practice._

Her mental tone was wry. _Practice don’t change the truth. I started drifting soon after Antso died. Don’t know why it’d stop now._ She met his eyes with a penetrating look. _Once you stop caring, sometimes away’s the only place to go._

This time, it was Charles’ turn to be silent. Every telepath knew what it was like – the wider world could hold nothing back from you, but you were never a part of it. Sometimes, it felt as though you were a child with your face pressed up against a window. Other times, it felt as though you were manipulating an enormous chessboard, moving the pieces from a distance and watching as other people fell.

Only in the rarest instances was that distance breached, even with a single person. If you were lucky, you might even forget what it felt like to be alone.

 _Antso must have been a special man_ , Charles thought finally. He didn’t know what he would do if Erik died. He planned on dying first so he’d never have to find out.

Sahondra smiled. _Bet he and your Erik could have told some stories._ She cocked an ear, even though there was no sound but the water. _Should be on his way to pick you up right about now._

 _He’s just barely leaving the city limits._ He could sense Erik’s lingering exasperation. _Amara apparently lit the kitchen on fire by accident._

 _You’ll have to talk to that girl._ Sahondra poured him a second cup. _It’ll help if you have more tea in you._

Charles was only halfway through his second cup when the sound of the jeep became audible. When Erik pulled up, looking as frazzled as his thoughts had suggested, Sahondra gave him a sympathetic look. _Hear one of your chicks made a mess in the kitchen._

Erik gave a long-suffering sigh. “Impatience is slightly less forgivable when they shoot bursts of magma out of their hands.” He was perfectly capable of speaking mentally so a telepath could hear him – he’d first used the trick with Charles back when they were with the CIA – but he’d admitted privately that he didn’t feel comfortable doing it with anyone but Charles. “We’ve gone through three fire extinguishers in the last month alone.”

“I’ll talk to her again,” Charles said. He spoke out loud when it was the three of them, since Charles’ shielding tended to keep even other telepaths from hearing his and Erik’s mental conversations. After the single incident where he'd chosen to make the adjustment intentionally, his shield now defaulted to wrap around both his and Erik’s minds. No matter what he tried, it always reverted back the moment he stopped concentrating on it. 

Erik didn’t mind. But in telepathic company, it was similar to speaking in a language you knew the other person couldn’t understand. “There may be an underlying problem we’re not picking up on.”

 _Then you’d best get a move on._ Sahondra made a shooing motion in Charles’ direction. _Can’t be sitting here with an old lady when you’ve got a job to do._

 _You’re not old._ Charles rolled away from the small table, angling his chair to the metal ramp Erik had built for him. _You’re full of the wisdom of the ages._

“He’s right, you know,” Erik added. “You look more beautiful every time I see you.” If there was a potential … difficulty with his shielding, it was that he was probably incapable of having a mental conversation his love couldn’t overhear if he wished.

Not that Charles minded.

Sahondra cackled again. _You boys are both terrible liars._

000

Given Erik’s abilities, getting both Charles and his chair settled into the jeep was an easier process than it might have been. That fact didn’t erase the essential indignity of needing so much tending to, however, and Charles was grateful Sahondra had gone inside so he wouldn’t have an audience.

 _I need to find a moment to start working with those braces,_ he told Erik. He was always more prone to speaking mentally after spending time with Sahondra. _It would be easier for everyone if I developed even a limited ability to walk._

 _If we’re talking about ease, the simplest thing would be to let me float your chair wherever you wanted._ At Charles’ stern look, he smirked. _You didn’t say what would be the most psychologically healthy. You said what would be easier._

The telepath sighed. If he could, Charles would have Erik within immediate reach at every hour of the day, for reasons that had absolutely nothing to do with transportation. _I rely on you too much already._

Now it was Erik’s turn to look stern, having picked up on some of the emotional flavor coloring the statement. _Don’t you dare stop._

Charles sent back a wave of love and warmth, making the other man’s expression ease. _You may regret saying that in a few decades._

Erik raised an eyebrow. _Are_ you _going to regret it?_

Charles caught the faint mental impression of mainland South Africa, baking in the sun, and the echo of a pained shout. Not even happiness could completely erase the violence from Erik’s soul, though the missions he’d chosen for himself had all been directly in the service of helping those in need. While his definition of those worthy of help had expanded since Cuba, Erik’s mercy for the perpetrators had not.

Remembering what Shaw’s thoughts had been like, Charles had learned to accept it.

To keep Erik close, he could accept a great deal. _Never._

Smiling a little, Erik caught Charles’ mouth in another kiss. _Then don’t be an idiot._


	16. Chapter 16

The problem with being an expert was that there was hardly anyone you could reasonably ask for advice. This was especially true of telepathy, since Charles knew of exactly three other telepaths in the world besides himself.

Sahondra, the island’s former guardian, maintained her shields by pure instinct. Georges, the only other telepath on the island, was weak enough that shielding wasn’t a concern – it took concerted effort for him to reach out to another mind at all. And if they ever crossed paths with Emma Frost again, a technical discussion would be the last thing on his mind.

So Charles was left to fumble with his shields on his own, attempting to solve the problem of why they kept snapping closed _around_ Erik instead of between them. The biggest problem, undoubtedly, was that his subconscious didn’t feel there was a problem at all – he would prefer to have Erik’s mind always touching his, and this way he could protect them _both_ from mental attacks. The fact that Erik wasn’t at all bothered by the situation did nothing to improve his resolve.

But the dark, scared part of Charles’s heart knew that Erik could easily change his mind. And if he didn’t give him a door to shut, the other man might decide he had to walk away completely. If that happened … Charles wasn’t sure how much of him would be left.

So he kept working.

000

Charles stared up at the darkened ceiling of his – their – bedroom, seeing his visualization of the inside of his mind. Forcing the shield didn’t seem to work, but maybe he could construct a divider between them. The original shield could remain the same shape, but Erik would have a way to shut Charles out if he needed it….

The telepath had been too focused on the thought to pick up on the sudden awareness from the man next to him. “Verdammt, Charles,” Erik growled, annoyed as he always was when he caught the other man tinkering. “Stop playing with your shields.”

Charles bit back his own frustration, keeping himself as far out of Erik’s mind as the shielding situation allowed. Every time he tried to explain what he was doing, Erik told him the shield was fine and not to worry about it. Their connection made it clear that the other man genuinely felt that way, but he couldn’t know whether his feelings would change.  Once upon a time, Raven had been comfortable with having him in her mind. “I’m sorry if I woke you. It won’t happen again.”

With a curse and the bite of genuine anger, Erik rolled until he was looming over Charles, arms bracketing him on both sides. He could feel the ring on his finger tightening, as if gripping him in a way Erik refused to allow himself. “You don’t think I feel you trying to kick me out of your head?”

The hurt he could feel buried beneath the anger twisted in Charles’s heart like a knife. “I swear to you that’s not what I’m doing.” He curled his hands around Erik’s neck. “But I need to have an escape hatch ready for you if you want it one day.”

“How many times do I have to repeat myself?” He leaned his face close to Charles, their noses almost touching.  “I. Won’t. Need. It.”

Oh, how much Charles wanted to believe that. “None of us can predict the future, Erik.”

Anger bit like the edge of a whip as Erik pushed himself away, climbing out of bed and reaching for his pants. Charles closed his eyes, feeling tears threaten. They’d had this argument before, and Erik took every logical precaution as a personal affront.

All that was left was the truth.

Charles cleared his throat, not trusting what he would let out if he tried to speak mentally. “I’ve only loved one other person in my life, and she kicked me out of her head when she turned 16. I got to be too much for her.”

He heard Erik go still, felt the knife-edge awareness that meant the other man was giving something his complete attention. “Intellectually, I am very much aware of the right to privacy and the fact that very few people see the world the same way I do. But it feels….” He swallowed, and when he spoke again his voice was rough. “It feels like everyone refusing to touch you. You can touch them, but only because they can’t stop you. They don’t want you to. No one _ever_ wants you to.”

He had to stop then, fighting to get control back. He felt Erik sit back down on his side of the bed, holding onto his own control with an iron grip. Still, he threaded his fingers through Charles’s.

The telepath tightened his hand around Erik’s, feeling the tears well up as he opened his eyes to look at the other man. “And then you meet a man with the most beautiful mind you have _ever_ seen. Not only does he let you touch his thoughts, he… he _holds_ you.” The word was almost a rasp, infused with all Charles’s knowledge of just how much of a miracle it truly was. “He wraps his mind around yours as if he knows this is where you should have been all along.”

He pressed a kiss to the back of Erik’s hand, holding his lips against the rough skin. “Not even in my loneliest, most desperate dreams was I brave enough to imagine you,” he whispered. “I can’t take even a second of this for granted, Erik. Not a _second_. If I ever make you feel like I’m smothering you, I need to give you options short of walking away from me.”

Gently, Erik slid his hand free, moving closer until he once again covered Charles’s body with his own. He leaned close, their gazes locked and his lips only a breath away, and sent a concentrated burst of love so fierce that it immediately snapped the telepath back into the center of Erik’s mind. Until he was once again surrounded by love.

Joy was too tame a word for what Charles felt, what he always felt every single time he received such an embrace. Erik’s expression eased, sending Charles a wordless nudge that was somewhere between _I love you_ and _you idiot_.

Charles reached back up to wrap his arms around the other man. _I love you, too._

“I’ll let you tinker, then,” Erik murmured out loud, pressing a kiss against the tip of his lover’s nose. “But only if you promise to never shut me out unless I say I want something so foolish.”

Charles smiled, feeling the knot inside him unwind. “The easiest promise I’ve ever had to make.”

“Good.” Erik locked eyes with him again. “Then it will never happen.”

As their lips met, it seemed impossible to believe otherwise.


	17. Chapter 17

_There’s no need to be nervous, Erik_. There was the faintest thread of amusement through Charles’s thoughts, coupled with the genuine need to comfort. _As I told you, everyone in the mansion is securely asleep. No one will see your demonstration but me._

 _As if that would help me be less nervous._ At the feel of Charles’s confusion, Erik smirked. _I am as susceptible to the desire to impress the teacher as any of our students._ Before those nerves could creep up again, Erik took a step away from Charles’s chair and held out his hands. “As you can see, I’m wearing no metal.”  When Charles nodded, Erik took a deep breath and reached for the hum of the electromagnetic field around his body. Once he had a firm enough grip, all he had to do was gather it together and _push_ ….

He couldn’t hide his relief as his feet left the ground, but that was nothing compared to the way Charles’s expression changed. The wonder on the other man’s face was perfectly reflected in his mind, one of the all-too-rare moments when Charles felt too much to properly control his expression. Seeing it almost gave him more of a sense of accomplishment than the flying had. “Erik, that was….”

Grinning, he landed again. “You theorized that I could control electromagnetic fields as well. I did some experimenting.” Hiding it from Charles had been a challenge – their discussion of shields was still a little too fresh for him to risk anything that seemed like pulling away – but over the last few days Sean had helped him mask the tests under the guise of his own flying lessons.

 _And you didn't even threaten to throw him off of anything. I'm so impressed._ Amusement and genuine pride colored each word as Charles’s smile blossomed. “Hopefully, some of your dedication to practice will have rubbed off on him. Do you know what your upper limit is, yet?”

“I haven’t tested it yet.” Erik’s own enthusiasm for his power could never match Charles’s, but even that reflected delight made what he could do seem like a joy. “I thought you’d want to be involved.”

“Given the reach of the Earth’s magnetic fields, it’s possible that nothing short of the atmosphere will stop— _Erik_.” Charles’s impromptu lecture cut off as Erik bent down and scooped the other man into his arms, the initial burst of exasperation and confusion quickly transforming into disbelief, a shade of embarrassment, and – yes, that was definitely anticipation. “You can’t be serious.”

“Utterly.” Erik shifted his grip, settling Charles into a more secure hold. “As you said, no one can see us.”

Sensing his resolve, Charles held on more tightly. “I’ll throw off your balance.”

“A small price to pay.” Erik stole a quick kiss, feeling the other man relax in his arms. “Let me take you flying, engel.”

Charles sent over a wave of almost helpless love. No matter how often he felt it, Erik knew he would never tire of the sensation. _And you say you’re not a romantic._

Erik grinned, reaching for the electromagnetic field. _What can I say? You inspire me._


	18. Chapter 18

Erik wasn't looking forward to Hank finishing the new Cerebro. True, he had learned to tolerate the original, at least once it had become clear that Charles's powers were more than a match for it, but he had never really liked the idea of Charles going someplace he was incapable of following. Since he had been in no condition to admit that thought to himself at the time, he had eventually learned to avoid thinking about his dislike.

 Now, though, it was impossible to ignore any of his feelings – he either had to be aware enough of them to block them from Charles, or he felt Charles's reaction to whatever _he_ picked up from Erik. Though he could never regret the change – a man who had spent his life freezing in the dark didn’t complain when the fire got a bit too warm – it could be a touch overwhelming at times.

When he felt Charles brooding about Cerebro one evening after a particularly enthusiastic explanation from Hank – Erik had become an expert at nodding solemnly during the pauses – he assumed that Charles had picked up on his hesitation. _I understand how important this is,_ he sent, pushing Charles's chair with his powers since the other man was too distracted to insist on doing it himself. _And I trust Hank's equipment. But you can't expect to stop me from irrationally disliking something._

When he felt a faint burst of surprise from Charles's mind, Erik realized that the brooding had been about something else entirely. _I would never attempt such a thing,_ he sent back, mental voice just a little too light. _You would not be you without something to brood about, and I would much rather it be Hank's latest invention than me._

 _So says the one man on the planet who broods nearly as much as I do._ He brushed his fingertips lightly over the back of Charles's neck. _What is it?_

He heard Charles's sigh only in his mind. _You won't like it._

Erik's entire body tensed, and he forced himself to take a deep breath. _I dislike many things. I've learned to deal with them for the few things that I love. As I said, what is it?_

There a pause, then a wave of apology that was only slightly comforting. _It seems as though I_ will _need to come up with some kind of shielding system that separates us,_ he sent finally _, if only to protect you when I'm inside Cerebro._

Denial came as hot and fast as it always did, fueled by fear of the darkness he'd once lived in. _I told you, I don't_ — He cut the thought off, his steps stopping as well as he realized what Charles meant. "Cerebro," he murmured, stunned enough to slip into actual speech. "There's a chance I might be inside Cerebro with you."

 _More than a chance._ Charles swung the chair around to face Erik, his mental voice as urgent as his expression. _My power opens up exponentially when I'm connected to Cerebro. My senses flood with hundreds of thousands of minds, coming at me all at once. If you can read my thoughts clearly enough to tell when I'm brooding, even the spillover will hit you like the side of a building._

Erik inhaled, his brain reminding him that he had forgotten to breathe for the last few minutes. _It doesn't hurt you._

Charles's brow lowered, his mind tinged with a faint sense of exasperation that Erik was entirely missing the point. _I've spent most of my life processing multiple information streams. But you've never experienced anything like this. It's a rush for me, but even I can get overwhelmed. If I drop you into the middle of it...._ He trailed off, rubbing a hand over his mouth. A wave of helplessness crested beneath the exasperation. _There are parts of my childhood I have no desire to watch anyone relive, Erik. Certainly not you._

Erik caught only the faintest flash of memory at that, a small boy lost in a crowd drowning in a cacophony of voices. It was enough to make his chest ache as he crouched down in front of Charles's chair. _You're forgetting something_. He rested his hand on Charles's leg. _I won't be alone._

Charles covered Erik's hand with his own, concern still radiating out of him. _I'll protect you as much as I can, but our tolerance levels are different. Even if you only get a tenth of what I'm experiencing, it will be overwhelming._

 _Then I'll simply hold on to your thoughts more tightly._ Erik focused on projecting calm certainty at Charles. _You anchored me in the middle of unimaginable hell, engel, and pulled me into the light. Do you really think I’m going to be afraid of a little shouting when I know you'll be beside me?_

And now there would be no place Charles could go where Erik could not follow. In a matter of minutes, his feelings about the machine had brightened considerably.

 _I'm sure Hank will be pleased._ Charles wrapped his hand around Erik's, sending him a wave of love strong enough to make Erik's throat tighten. _Oh, my love. I wish I could be the man you see when you look at me._

Erik straightened, still holding on as he leaned forward and pressed a kiss against Charles's hair. _I have the same thought about you at least a dozen times a day. Of the two of us, however, I am the only one who is correct._

Charles's mental voice shimmered with laughter and something that might have been tears. _I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree on that._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come check out my original short fiction on my [blog](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


	19. Chapter 19

"Stop making the face, Charles," Raven chided her brother, making a small and completely unnecessary adjustment to the helmet while Hank did the same thing with various dials.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Charles said, a haughty edge to his voice and his thoughts full of enough affronted denial that it was clear he knew _exactly_ what Raven was talking about. Erik did as well – he'd been radiating a mixture of worry and "everything would work out if people would just do what I tell them" all morning.

Raven raised an eyebrow at him. "You'd think telepaths would be better liars. You're an embarrassment to your species." She kissed his cheek, then straightened and gave Erik a smile. "If Erik says he'll be fine, he'll be fine."

" _Thank_ you, Raven." Erik's voice was dry as he squeezed Charles's shoulders. He had refused to sit down, as Charles had originally insisted, but agreed that physical contact would probably help the anchoring process. "It's good to know that someone here trusts my judgment."

Charles's denial was immediately replaced by guilt. You _know I don't mean it that way_ , he sent, squeezing Erik's hand.

 _I know_ , Erik sent back, his mental voice utterly gentle. _But occasionally you need a gentle reminder that other people do, in fact, know what they're doing._

"I don't know if I've ever told you this, but it's both adorable and extremely annoying when you guys do that." Raven grinned as she stepped back, looking over at Hank. "Everything ready?"

"Just give me a few more seconds ...." Hank adjusted a few more dials, eyed them critically as if they might tell him something, then turned to Charles and Erik. "Ready?"

 _One last chance, Erik_ , Charles sent. _There's still time to give you more shielding._

 _Do I need to start saying no in other languages? I had thought English was your native tongue, but clearly you're having trouble comprehending it._ "Yes, Hank," Erik said out loud. "We're ready."

Instantly, Erik was bombarded with a cascade of thoughts, impressions and images. He felt the cold lick of something that might have been fear – the last time he'd felt something like this was when Emma had thrown his worst memories back at him – but that disappeared when he realized these images were more than pain and cruelty. They were ... everything, a hundred thousand lives rushing by him in an instant. Going to the grocery store, hugging a child, running for their lives, a sporting triumph, paying bills, being yelled at by an employer, sobbing at the death of a spouse, wandering lost and afraid looking for your mother, a first kiss with the boy of your dreams....

Erik was drowning in it, barely able to keep a sense of himself as he violently ricocheted from moment to moment. Then he felt the press of Charles's mind against his, a hand reaching out to steady him, and he clung to it in the onslaught.

 _See what I see_ , Charles sent, the touch of his mental voice profoundly grounding. _It will make it easier for you to process everything you're experiencing._

As he felt Charles's mind wrap around his, the world cleared into a sea of formless grey. It was full of people, some of whom were equally grey while others were shaded in brilliant color.

 _Those are the mutants,_ Charles sent. _The humans are in grey._

 _Your favoritism is showing_ , Charles, he sent back, amused. With Charles’s thoughts to anchor him, the strangeness of the experience was fading rapidly. He was still in awe at the sheer scope of it, the breathless ocean of power Charles could command with such ease—

_It’s really not nearly as dramatic as you make it sound, Erik._

—but even that was a familiar feeling when it came to the man he loved. _Do let me finish my thoughts, engel. Don’t you have mutants you should be looking for?_

He felt a wave of amusement from Charles. _If I’d known you’d be a backseat driver, I’d have fought harder against you coming._

Erik flashed his shark grin, not sure if he’d really done it or if it was only in his mind. With the two of them, it didn’t matter. _Too late now._

000

Being inside Cerebro with Erik was far less of a rush than he’d remembered it being alone. It was the same thrill to touch the minds of other mutants, so many of whom felt as alone as he once had, and it was the same blessed relief to give his powers the rare opportunity to stretch.

But real giddiness always had the faint edge of fear to it, the knowledge that the control was out of your hands, and with Erik that was gone entirely. He had a constant sense of his own solidity now, no matter how far Cerebro expanded his powers, and though he rode the boost there was never a moment where he felt like he might be carried off by it. Never a whisper of thought that he might _wish_ to be carried off, losing himself in the other minds instead of returning to the relative isolation of his own.

_If you had done that during your earlier sessions, Charles, rest assured that the CIA building would have not survived._

Charles smiled at the fierce possessiveness of the thought. _It’s good that I never went through with it, then._

They sorted through the minds together, identifying the mutants who would benefit most from participating in the school. Petra Larsen, an earth mover who lived a life of secret terror in Johannesburg, not so much out of fear for herself but for her pointy-eared, pink-skinned younger sister. Ororo Munroe, an orphan in Cairo who could manipulate the weather had to steal to keep herself fed. Suzanne Chan, a dutiful student and daughter with parents who were baffled and alarmed by their child’s strange behavior, not able to even fathom that she could freeze time. Lorna Dane, a young woman backpacking through Europe alone because her ability to metal-bend had driven her away from her family.

_A fellow metallokinetic. It seems we’ve found your protégé._

_For all we know, she’ll quail in terror at my very presence._

_Oh love, you’re not nearly as terrifying as you think you are._

They stayed focused on Africa, Asia and Europe, all relatively close to Genosha and far enough away that they were unlikely to re-engage the CIA’s attention. He would not ignore those mutants – he could still remember the touch of their minds – but they weren’t ready yet.

Still, as he left Hong Kong, he couldn’t help but skim along the west coast of the U.S. Perhaps if they were discreet, they could—

The thought froze as he felt the touch of a familiar mind against his, one he hadn’t felt since Shaw and his men had attacked their students and destroyed the CIA compound. 

 _Darwin,_ Erik murmured, astonishment coloring the words. _It seems his ability to adapt and survive is stronger than we realized._

Armando Munoz was a cabby in San Francisco now, though he was using a different name. He’d gone to the mansion in Westchester, only to find it empty, and still watched the news even though he’d pieced together enough to believe they’d died in Cuba. He’d known them all less than a week, but months later his thoughts were still palpably colored by grief.

Charles felt his own grief at the thought of Darwin being left marooned, alone. He should have realized that Darwin’s power might have been enough to bring him back, should have been watching….

_Engel, stop. What matters now is that we go and get him._

They ended the session at that point, Charles coming back into the present moment to find Raven staring at him intensely. “What happened?” she asked, worry coloring her voice as she moved toward him. “And don’t try to tell me it was nothing. You don’t control your face nearly as well as you think you do when you’re hooked into that thing.”

Charles took a deep breath as he lifted the helmet off his head. “Darwin is alive.” Guilt slid through him. “He’s in San Francisco.”

Both Raven and Hank gasped. “He can’t … that’s not possible.” Hank said. “He _disintegrated_.”

Raven’s eyes widened as she thought it through. “His powers,” she breathed, her face lighting up. She laughed, throwing her arms around Hank. “His powers brought him back.”

Hank’s eyes widened. “That’s …” He stopped, speechless. “Wow.”

Charles looked down at his hands. He hadn’t nearly been the caretaker he should have been when Darwin had been with them, not yet ready to commit to the emotional responsibility of watching over other lives. He had not grieved nearly enough, when they lost Darwin, and now that he was returning he felt the shame of that more than ever.

 _We were both learning_ , Erik murmured in his thoughts, curving a hand around the back of Charles’s neck. _We are a different group than the one he left._

Charles cleared his throat. “Would you be willing to make contact with him, Raven?” he asked. “He has a life in San Francisco, and he may not want to join us in Genosha. But he deserves to know that he has a place here.”

“He thinks we died in Cuba,” Erik finished, giving Charles a gentle squeeze.

Raven gasped. “That’s horrible.” Her brow furrowed slightly as she turned to Charles. “Are you sure? I thought….”

“I was merely his teacher.” Charles reached over, taking her hand. “You were his friend. I think it would be best, coming from you.”

Raven looked at him for a long moment, eyes far too understanding, then squeezed his hand. “We’ll get him back, Charles.”

Charles smiled. “If anyone can, it’s you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel I should warn you all that I won't be going Alex/Darwin with this, though it's a perfectly lovely pairing and I applaud all the writers who have done such charming things with them. I simply felt it was ridiculous to let such a kind, intelligent man stay dead when there was no reason for it.


	20. Chapter 20

Suzanne Chan, who could freeze reality for short bursts, was a bright, intelligent girl with an untamed curiosity about the world. Her parents, however, were far more meek, and during their first meeting had kept glancing over at Erik with undisguised panic in their eyes.

Deciding it could only help matters, Erik had excused himself to a nearby bar for Charles’ second meeting with the family. It was small, shabby, and nearly empty at this time of day, which meant that he could track the few people in the bar without having to look at them. The scotch was inferior, but peace and quiet was worth a few sacrifices.

Even those sacrifices, however, were not enough. Erik saw the women approach out of the corner of his eye, her gaze a touch too knowing as she looked up at him through lowered lashes. “You look lonely, good sir.” She laid her hand on the bar, fingertips a small, precisely calculated distance from the bare skin of his own hand. “Are you not enjoying the beauties of Hong Kong?”

The woman was young enough to suggest that she was working her way up to more lucrative territory. “I am enjoying them from a distance,” he said gently. He had rejected hundreds of such offers over the years, but this was the first where he could legitimately offer the excuse that he was in a committed relationship. He smiled slightly. “And I am merely alone for the moment.”

“Ah.” She scanned the room, as if waiting for a woman to emerge from some dim corner, then turned back to Erik. Her hand moved incrementally closer. “A wise man learns not to waste even a moment.”

Erik moved his hand away, preparing a firmer dismissal, when the door opened. It remained open a few beats too long, and Erik stayed absolutely still as the group of men formed behind him. The prostitute, along with the bartender, froze.

“Mr. Lensherr. We would like a word.”

After pausing long enough to finish his drink and get a firm grip on every metal chair leg in the establishment, Erik slowly turned around. There were 10 men in front of him, their suits and uniformity clearly suggesting Triad. The few other bar patrons had also frozen, as if hoping they would not be noticed.

Cursing the fact that he was factoring them in as innocent bystanders rather than inconvenient witnesses, Erik calmly met the mob leader’s eyes. “I have no quarrel with you. It would be wise of you not to start one.”

“Oh, but you do have a quarrel with me.”

The man who spoke, elegantly dressed with a thick German accent, stepped out from behind the group of Triad. He was too young to have been an active member of the Nazi party, but the hatred in his eyes suggested some involvement with Erik’s hunting. He answered his question with his next breath. “You murdered my father, you Jewish scum.”

Erik’s gaze flicked back to the leader. “If he’s dead, he can’t pay you. Then there will be no one to compensate you for the men you lose.”

The man smiled. “The money is already ours. And there is honor in finally being the one to defeat a man with a reputation such as yours.” He gestured to his men, who were all carrying wooden baseball bats. “It is said that knives and guns cannot touch you. I hope you will find these weapons worthy of you.”

“Run,” Erik said under his breath, grateful when the prostitute finally dived behind the bar and pulled the bartender down with her.  Then he stood, reaching for his knife as the barstools slowly started to rise. The Triad men moved forward as a unit, bats raised to strike….

Then dropped to the ground unconscious, along with every single other person in the bar. A second later, both the German and the Triad men seemed to curl in on themselves with pain before once again going limp.

It was immediately followed by a beloved, still-furious voice in his mind. _Did it never cross your mind to ask me for help? A quick ‘Sorry to interrupt, but I’m afraid an entire armed mob is going to do their best to kill me in a few minutes’ wouldn’t have taken a great deal of effort on your part!_

Erik was surprised enough to say the name out loud. “Charles?” He looked at the pile of his former attackers, finally understanding what must have happened. _I take it I have you to thank for my sudden rescue?_

_I also tied their memory of you straight into their physical pain centers. If either Heinrich or the Triad even think your name again, they’ll collapse in agony._

As a long-term solution, it was simple, elegant and brutal. Erik should have been worried that his normally gentle, optimistic engel had thought of it, but there wasn’t a part of Charles Erik wasn’t attracted to. _Wiping their memory would have been easier._

 _You’re mine._ The thought was fierce and absolute in its certainty _._ Clearly, Charles had finally gotten the message. _I needed to make it clear that hurting you wasn’t acceptable._

Erik couldn’t help but be touched. _Feeling possessive, are we?_

 _Always._ There was a pause, as if he’d had to stop and talk to someone in the room with him. _Now get back here. I just warned the Chans you’re coming, and if you’re not within arm’s reach soon I’m afraid I’ll terrify them far more than you could ever manage._

Erik grinned, heading for the door. _We wouldn’t want that._


	21. Chapter 21

Raven preferred to take a man's shape, when she had the chance – people instantly deferred to her, moving aside when she needed to pass by instead of forcing the small, blond girl to move around them. Of course, that had made it easier for them to cop a feel, and in those days Charles had always been upset when she'd broken their fingers.

Though a few of them, she remembered, had suddenly become completely incapable of remembering even their own names.

Now, though, she was more than just the fragile baby sister. She watched the humans flow back and forth through the hotel lobby, imagining what would happen if she transformed into her true self in front of them. There would be panic, undoubtedly, and even if she confined herself to fighting only in her own defense she was sure she would still get the opportunity to shed blood. Mutants would make their mark. Maybe, just maybe, revolution would begin.

But if she did that, she would gather a comet trail of violence that would follow her wherever she went. She could never bring it back to the school, to her still-injured brother and all the innocent little children they taught. To the island full of people who had only ever treated them with kindness. To gentle-hearted Hank, who even though he loved her was not built to be a warrior.

It wasn’t a price she was willing to pay.

The temptation inside her settled into silence, she settled back into the plush chair she’d claimed and kept her eyes firmly on the glass doors. The man’s secretary – she’d used her real voice for that one – had been careful to specifically request a certain driver, who here in San Francisco was going by the name Darwin St. James. He had impressed her boss last time he was in town, she said. If the service was equally impressive this time, her employer would be happy to recommend the service to all his rich friends.

Now, as she watched Darwin step through the doors, Raven had to take a minute to breathe through her suddenly tight throat. He looked almost exactly like she remembered him, though the steady kindness in his eyes had been replaced by wariness. He stopped to talk to the woman at the front desk, eyes flicking over to her, and she resisted the urge run over to him and fling her arms around him. Instead, she waited patiently while he walked over and sat down in a chair opposite hers, far enough away to be out of immediate reach.

He leaned forward, pitching his voice low enough that it wouldn’t be easily overheard. “Now, we both know I’ve never driven you before.” His expression was perfectly pleasant, but she could hear the steel beneath the words. “So let’s make things easier on both of us and tell me who you’re with.”

Raven leaned forward as well. “Who do you think I’m with?” she asked carefully. If Charles had accidentally missed someone with his mind-wipe, or if there was another group out there recruiting, they needed to know. “Has someone approached you?”

Darwin watched her face, clearly looking for a lie, then his jaw tightened. “No, but that doesn’t mean they won’t.” He looked down, then back up at her. “All you’ll get from me is a ride in my taxi.”

“Actually,” she said softly, reshaping her vocal chords so she could use her own voice for a brief moment. “I hope you’ll change your mind about that.” Then she flashed her yellow eyes at him.

The transformation on Darwin’s face was immediate, his own eyes going wide with shock before lighting up with such sheer relief that Raven’s heart hurt. He squeezed his eyes shut, opening them again as if he thought she might disappear, and she reached out and grabbed his hand. “We didn’t know you’d come back,” she whispered. “I promise you we would have found you before this if we’d known.”

He nodded, his eyes wet. “How could you? I didn’t know I could pull that kind of trick out of my hat, either.” Then his expression sobered, his hand tightening around hers. “I went back to the facility, but it was abandoned. Then I tried to look up Xavier, but the house was shut up. Abandoned.” He let out a breath. “After what happened with Shaw, I was afraid….”

Raven couldn’t have imagined spending the last few months alone. “Shaw’s dead now. He can’t hurt anyone else.”

He hesitated. “And the others?”

“Angel … left. She chose to go with Shaw’s men.” Raven winced at the spasm of pain on Darwin’s face, but she didn’t want to lie to him.  “But no one died. The rest of us are alive, safe and together.” She smiled a little. “We’re all teachers, now, actually. Charles’s idea.”

Darwin smiled back. “That sounds wonderful.”

She took a deep breath. “We could always use another one.”

There was a moment of perfect stillness. Then the relief was back in his eyes. “I can pack faster if you come back to my apartment and help me.”

“I think that can be arranged.” She grinned as she stood. “I just need to find somewhere to go change.”

 


	22. Chapter 22

It was a touch warmer in this part of Cairo than in other areas of the city, the heat just this shy of oppressive. Those few wearing jackets had long ago stripped them off, the sweat and stickiness dulling the senses to the point that it was easier for a small hand to blend into the crowd. Charles felt her lift a man's wallet, delicate as the landing of a butterfly, and slip away just as quickly.

 _She's good_ , Erik sent, sitting in the seat next to him and watching the same theft from inside Charles's mind. They had been tracking young Ororo for days, long enough that Charles had been forced to default to a wheelchair out of sheer exhaustion, but the girl was far too alert for danger to stay in one place too long. If it looked like she was being followed by anyone, she fled. This open air cafe, near enough to sense her but not near enough to speak to her, was the closest they'd come. _Still, she should be more careful. Too much heat, and tempers flare. If she is caught, there's more of a chance her target will hurt her._

 _Hopefully, there will be no need for you to pass on that piece of advice._ Charles's gaze passed over the crowd of people flowing past, his attention focused on the girl he'd first seen in the Cerebro back at the CIA facility. She'd been in a bright dress then, well cared for and getting her education, and he wondered what had happened to her in the interim to bring her here. If there was something he might have done, if he’d only reached out at the right moment….

 _Engel._ Erik didn’t move, but the brush of his mind against Charles’s was like the most affectionate of touches. _You cannot anticipate every move the world makes. To try will drive you mad, and you know I will be of no help in restraining you._

Charles smiled slightly at the humor in Erik’s mental voice, letting himself be distracted for a moment. _We would wreak havoc together, wouldn’t we?_

 _The world itself would tremble._ Then the lightness faded, and only steady, serious comfort remained. _You cannot save the world in one fell stroke, Charles, any more than I could have ended it that quickly. Even the most loving of wars takes time._

 _I know. It’s just …_ He let out a breath. _I handled so many things badly, at the beginning. The only reason Darwin is alive is because of the power of his genetics. And if a single thing had changed at the beach, there could have been more bodies._ He shook his head, regret and resolve mingling together inside him. _My only ambition is to protect them now. To give them a home and as much peace as can be found. Beyond that, they can decide for themselves._

 _And my missions?_ Erik’s mental voice was suddenly careful, emotion wrapped up far more tightly than Charles had heard it in a very long time.

He turned to the man he loved. The late night flights, mostly to Africa, happened only sporadically, with Alex, Sean and Raven all accompanying him at various times.  He and Erik spoke of them only rarely, and during the fighting itself Erik often withdrew as much as their shared shields made it capable. Charles let him, knowing his own worry would do little to help matters.

But that didn’t mean he was ashamed.

 _You are protecting the innocent._ He sent Erik a wave of love. _I may no longer trust myself to be a general, but that doesn’t mean I can’t see value in the battle._

  _Let us trust you, if you can no longer trust yourself._ The words felt like an oath. _The mutants of the world are in no better hands._ Then his mental voice lightened. _Though I’m still not certain how we will get the opportunity to explain that to young Ororo._

Erik’s own amusement encouraged Charles’s own. _I’m afraid I’ll have to be a presumptuous telepath and announce myself._

The corner of Erik’s lips quirked upward. _You know you love it._

 _I admit nothing_. A silent laugh shimmered in Charles’s mind. _Though it would help if I had some more support than a mysterious voice._

 _Easily done_. Pulling out a 5 piastres coin from his pocket, he held it in his closed hand for a moment. When he opened it again, a simple metal butterfly fluttered in the air. Anyone looking closely would be able to tell it wasn’t real, but it would pass easily by those paying less attention. _Show me where to send it._

Charles sent his mind out among the crowd, finding the young thief as she slipped a few freshly stolen Egyptian pounds into her pocket. _Ororo_ , he sent her, feeling the girl’s burst of surprise as her head jerked up. _Your control of the weather is excellent._

He felt her wariness. _You are speaking in my mind?_ He caught the faint taste of Egyptian Arabic in the thought, their minds translating the meaning for one another more quickly and clearly than their voices ever could.

 _Yes. There are others like you, though we don’t share your exact gift._ He sent her warmth, a sense of safety and comfort. _We teach at a school for such people, and we would love to have you as a student._

Her wariness faded a little. _Others?_

That was when Erik sent in the little butterfly, letting it alight on the girl’s helplessly outstretched hand. The two men shared her sense of breathless wonder, though she soon clamped down on it with a sense of ferocity that felt painfully familiar to Charles. He knew what it was like to feel that no one was safe. _How do I know you’re telling me the truth?_

 _Let me show you_. He sent her images of the school, the students during lessons and at play. Erik contributed a few of his own, adding as much of their sense memories to the scenes as they could.

Hope and yearning, only barely held back. _I have no money._

 _You need none._ He sent her more warmth. _All we ask is that you come say hello._

For a moment, she did nothing. Then, slowly, he felt her slip through the crowd, every footstep cautious. She hesitated again, tucked in behind the corner of the wall, then finally stepped into view.

Charles smiled at her. “Hello, Ororo.”

Erik gestured toward the empty seat. “Come, sit. Let us get you something to eat.”

She paused only a moment before heading towards the waiting chair. 


	23. Chapter 23

Since he’d made the butterfly for Ororo, Erik had begun spending his spare minutes working on refining his craftsmanship. Mostly, this involved making pieces for a new chess set, though being inside Charles' shields meant that it took a great deal of concentration and more than a little misdirection for their matches to remain at all challenging. 

Occasionally, however, inspiration drove him in another direction.

That night, Erik was sitting on one end of the couch, Charles’s head in his lap and a book on Einstein’s theories of time open between them. The students and their fellow teachers were scattered through the house and yard, and if they were getting into trouble they were at least choosing to do it quietly.

He was just putting the finishing touches on his little creation when he heard Charles’s voice in his mind. _Can I see it yet?_

Erik smiled a little. Charles had his head buried in the book, which meant he couldn’t see what the little metal figure was, and Erik had sensed enough concentration from the other man that he honestly hadn’t thought Charles was paying attention. _I imagine I’m focusing on it closely enough that any surprise would be spoiled._

_You’re always so critical of everything you make._ Charles moved the book aside to smile up at him. _I don’t really get a sense of how beautiful it is until I see it for myself._

Obligingly, Erik floated his creation over into Charles’s hands. It was a little wolf, standing as if he were surveying the land in front of him with a calm, wise expression. When Charles saw it, his face lit up. “Oh, Erik, this is exquisite.” He pushed himself up into a sitting position, and the metallokinetic scooted close again without even thinking about it. “What inspired you to make this?”

Erik lifted a casual shoulder, gaze rapt on the face of the man he loved. “It just came to me.” He laid an arm against the back of the couch, fingers skimming lightly over the other man’s shoulder. _I’ve named him Charles._

The other man looked up at Erik, startled, then that melted away in a tangle of _love-pleasure-affection_ that was almost physically warming. _Wolves mate for life, you know,_ Charles sent, the words tender.

_I’m counting on it,_ Erik thought without meaning to, making Charles snuggle closer. Out loud, though, he only said “I hadn’t known that.”

“Now you do.” The telepath smiled as he held up the little metal animal. _And Charles the wolf wants to know where his Erik is._

000

The wolf held pride of place on Charles’s desk, positioned so it could always be seen and yet be safe from potentially overeager young hands. He knew he was being whimsical, but the wolf seemed lonely – as if it knew it was patiently waiting for his mate.

He was very careful, though, not to think that in front of the man he loved. In his mind, every Charles was happier with an Erik to call their own, but he’d meant that more as a sentiment than a demand for another present. His mother had always wanted another piece of jewelry as a sign of his stepfather’s commitment to their marriage, and the last thing he wanted to do was remind himself of either of those two individuals.

When Erik came in one day and placed the little panther next to the wolf on Charles’s desk, however, he didn’t seem nagged in the slightest. Instead, he was radiating a low hum of satisfaction, the same way he always did when he’d done something he deemed particularly clever. “Meet Erik.”

Charles picked it up, turning it over in his hands, trying to chase away the faint disappointment marring his pleasure. It was as beautifully made as the wolf, but the fact that it was a panther lessened the symbolism. Panthers found a new mate every season.

“They’re also not pack animals by nature,” Erik said, his presence inside Charles’s shields allowing him to pick up on the thought. He seemed amused as he took the seat on the other side of the desk, leaning forward. “And yet here he is.” Gently taking it out of Charles’s hand, the man he loved set the little creature back down next to the wolf. “His lifelong mate at his side, both of them watching over the pack they’ve made together.” Erik looked back up, meeting Charles’s eyes. “He likes being a wolf far better than he ever liked being a panther.”

“And wolves mate for life.” Throat tight, Charles reached over and squeezed Erik’s hand.  _I love you._

Erik smiled, lifting the telepath’s hand to his lips. _I believe you’ve mentioned that, once or twice._

Amused, Charles raised an eyebrow at him. _Well, if you’d be obliging enough to come around the desk I can show you as well._

His smile widening into a grin, Erik made the walk without letting go of the telepath’s hand before bending down for his kiss. _I think I can manage that._


	24. Chapter 24

The darkness had done little to lessen the South African heat, though it did wonders for hiding the two men positioned at the border of what Erik could only think of as a ghetto. There were mutants among the natives who had been forced there, but there were also mutants among the soldiers who had first ripped them from their homes. Erik couldn’t understand it.

 _The need to be among the protected can make people do terrible things_ , Charles sent, forever close despite the miles separating them. He was the one who had alerted them to tonight’s raid, which Erik took as a sign that Charles’ acceptance of these expeditions was becoming less resigned. They were doing good, much of it for the humans Erik had once been so ready to fight against.

But spending time with the people of Genosha had reminded Erik that mutants hadn’t been the only ones in the Nazi death camps. And they weren’t the only ones who would be attacked tonight, by thugs who wanted to torment those who barely had anything left.

Alex moved up beside him, not speaking. Erik only ever took members of the original team with him when he went on these expeditions, though Melody was pushing to join one. Erik had agreed to consider it, but only when the young woman had demonstrated a sufficient amount of control with her death-seeking powers. So far, it had proven to be an effective motivator.

 _She needs the outlet as much as you do, as much as I might wish it otherwise for both your sakes._ Charles’ thought was a sigh _. It’s good you’ve taken her under your wing._

 _I haven’t taken her under my wing,_ Erik sent back, an old argument even he didn’t believe anymore _. I simply got tired of the shrubbery dying on a weekly basis. Callie would have never forgiven us._

He could feel Charles’ amusement, cut off quickly by a more serious matter. _Raven’s coming._

And a moment later, there they were. Six guerrilla soldiers, led by someone they believed was a resident of the ghetto looking for a better life by betraying his neighbors. The person they thought he was, a young man too eager to prove his worth, was unconscious in the tall grasses. Charles had wiped his memory, then rewired his brain so that the thought of hurting anyone would cause him incredible pain. In this world, it was almost a harsher punishment than death would have been.

Erik was very careful to keep that thought from the man he loved.

 _Pull back, engel._ He reached out for the soldiers’ guns, holding onto each individual bullet. _You don’t want to be here for this part._

 _And leave the three of you alone?_ There was a complicated sense of resolve behind the words. _No._

Then Raven was there, and Alex sent out a burst of power that immediately consumed two of the men. The others panicked, raising their guns, panicking even more when they wouldn’t fire. He shot three of the men with their own guns, quicker deaths than they deserved, while Raven was busy terrorizing the final group member. After they had finally overcome Charles’ numerous protests, Erik had taught her hand-to-hand combat. The girl was a natural at it.

Soon she had the man on the ground, hand against a pressure point in his throat. Erik and Alex moved to stand beside her, and the man looked up at the three of them with genuine fear. “Who _are_ you?”

 “The X-men.” Raven’s voice was like a knife. “And these people are under our protection.”

She let him go to spread the word, and they all watched as he ran away in the opposite direction. Raven had suggested they start developing a reputation, hoping it would ease some of the violence for them. Clearly, optimism was such a strong Xavier trait that it surpassed even genetics.

Erik would not begrudge it of either Charles or Raven. And when it failed, he would be there to protect them.

For now, though, the jet was waiting. As much as Erik wished it hadn’t been over so quickly, the desire to go home was stronger.

 “The X-men?” Alex asked as they walked back, sounding interested.

 “Erik’s idea.” Raven smiled. “Totally sexist, but it had such a nice ring to it I couldn’t resist.”

Charles, who had already heard the name, once again lodged a protest. _It’s still ridiculous that you named them after me. If anything, the team is far more yours now than mine._

 _But I’m yours._ Erik smiled slightly. _Which means that anything I have is by extension yours as well._

 _How am I supposed to respond to that?_ Charles sent back, the words colored by a wave of amusement and love. To Erik’s mind, it was answer enough.


	25. Chapter 25

Erik had never attended a wedding before. Such ceremonies were for real people, with friends and loved ones and daily concerns beyond death and revenge. That life, he’d always thought, had been thoroughly closed off to him.

He’d certainly never expected to participate in a wedding, standing next to the nervous groom for reasons he wasn’t sure either he or the groom were entirely clear on. Hank and Raven were getting married in the mansion’s sprawling garden, which had run rampant until young Callie had decided to take it in hand, and what had been intended as a small family wedding had somehow grown to include almost a hundred people. They were well-liked in Genosha, and the school already had a surprisingly good reputation despite the fact that none of them had the slightest idea what they were doing.

Hank, however, was not yet comfortable with the attention. “Breathe,” Erik murmured to the younger man, voice low enough that none of the other guests could hear.  “Remember – the moment Raven steps out, not a single person will be looking at you.”

 “True.” Hank very deliberately inhaled, then exhaled, before smoothing a hand down the front of his shirt. “You’ve gotten better at being comforting, by the way.”

The corners of Erik’s mouth twitched upward. “I’ve been practicing.” The younger man responded with his own small smile, relaxing a little more.

Then the doors opened, and everyone’s attention immediately shifted to the man and woman who had just stepped out into the yard. Raven looked beautiful, the simple white dress making her blue skin and red hair glow like a jewel. She met Hank’s eyes, beaming, and in that moment it didn't take telepathy to feel the love flowing between them.

Erik’s focus, however, was on the man walking Raven down the aisle. Charles had insisted, working valiantly with the braces these last few months in order to make it possible, and Raven had been so thrilled with the idea it had been impossible to try and dissuade either of them. She had her arm securely tucked through her brother’s, carefully modulating her steps to match his, and smiling at everyone to keep the focus away from the small but noticeable signs of the strain her brother was going through. It was a subtle kindness, and one Charles would never think to ask for, but as the siblings’ eyes met a moment of perfect, loving understanding passed between them.

Blinking back the sudden sting of tears in his own eyes, Erik moved his left hand behind him slightly to disguise the motion of his power being activated. He wouldn’t steal Charles’ hard-won effort from him – that would be wrong, no matter how well meant – but it was such a small thing to use the metal braces to support only a little of Charles’ weight. To make walking just a bit easier, so he could focus on the day itself.

The change in Charles’s steps was almost imperceptible, but he immediately met Erik’s gaze with a small smile. _So you’re walking_ me _down the aisle?_

His chest tightened. He swore that he had no interest in societal acknowledgement, but he would never forget the moment Charles had moved Erik’s grandfather’s ring onto his wedding ring finger. _If you’d like to think of it that way._

Charles’s smile widened. _I do._

Then they were there, Raven giving her brother a fierce hug before taking Hank’s hands in hers. Charles stepped into position, and everyone turned to the minister to begin the ceremony.

Erik had no experience with weddings. But he was sure there had never been a lovelier one.

000

_Raven says thank you as well, by the way,_ Charles sent, arm around the back of Erik’s chair as he leaned in close. Most of the other guests were dancing to the music provided by a local band, who were cheerful if not particularly skilled, but Charles had needed a rest and Erik always preferred to be as close to him as possible. _She picked up on it only a moment after I did._

Erik patted the other man’s thigh, letting his hand linger there afterward. They were generally discreet, but the locals had been surprisingly accepting of their relationship – apparently, the ways of the “magic children” covered a whole host of non-mutation-related eccentricities. _I should have thought to do it earlier._

_Your timing was perfect, actually_. Charles watched Hank and his sister dance with a soft expression on his face. Even when the song ended, the two continued to move together in their own little world. “She looks radiant.”

Erik wasn’t surprised when the telepath spoke out loud. Their conversations often blended mental and physical speech, both so familiar that they moved between them effortlessly. By this point, they were so thoroughly wrapped up in each other’s minds that it was likely impossible to completely separate them.

The thought was deeply comforting.

 “They both do.” He turned to look at Charles, who utterly owned the heart no one else had imagined Erik even had. “They’re in love.”

There was a world of tenderness in Charles’ eyes as they met his. “It does tend to have that effect on people.” Then, using his cane, he pushed himself to his feet before holding his hand out to the other man. Behind him, the band started playing something slow and sweet. “Dance with me.”

Erik had only ever danced for practical purposes, seducing information out of people or moving himself into position for a strike. He’d never done it for the sheer pleasure of holding someone in his arms, of finding the rhythm specific to two people meant to move together. “Charles….”

 “You can’t be as bad at it as I will be.” The words were accompanied by enough understanding to make it clear he already knew the reason for Erik’s hesitation. “But I had two very clear goals for today – walk my sister down the aisle and dance with the man I love. I’ve already done the first.” He gave him the “come here” gesture with one finger, the corners of his mouth curving upward. “Now it’s your turn.”   

Erik stared up at the man he loved, feeling a grin slowly form on his own face, then took Charles’ hand and stood without putting any weight on him. Then he took the cane, setting it carefully down across both their seats as his powers wrapped around the other man’s leg braces. _No need to let that get in the way._

Charles’s own smile was brilliant as they headed out to join the other dancers. _Just you and me, then?_

Erik tightened his hold on him. _Always._


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I play with Erik's name/family names in this one, but it's a relatively small tweak.

Erik never spoke during his morning runs, the island’s symphony of metal more than enough to fill the silence. His range had expanded dramatically over the last few years – Charles was right, it seemed, about the effect that inner balance had on his powers – and he let his awareness sweep the surrounding sea for ships with weapons of any kind. Then he moved inland, checking the harbor and the rest of the island’s perimeter before focusing on the school.

Here, the song became more detailed, the individual notes carrying far more meaning than they did on the rest of the island.  The perimeter here was clear as well, and he let his awareness linger as it traveled through the building’s plumbing and wiring to find the inhabitants.

There was Charles, their ring wrapped safely around his finger and his still-sleeping mind a warm presence in the back of Erik’s thoughts.  Raven was in the room she and Hank shared, likely still asleep as well, though Hank was outside beginning his own morning exercise routine. By this point, he knew the feel of their wedding rings nearly as well as he did Charles’s. Alex, down in the kitchen, wore a simple chain as a symbol of his feelings for Lorna. Sean had a pinky ring he'd chosen ("Enough for you to keep track of me, but not enough for you to get me in trouble," as he put it) and Darwin had taken to wearing the same watch faithfully.

A handful of the other students had their own signatures. Erik could sense Joanna’s steel skin, even when it wasn’t manifested. Shola had a pin in his ankle from an old accident. Lorna, the school’s only other metallokinetic, wore a silver cuff that she reshaped whenever she got bored. Alisa had gotten her ears pierced, though her parents had forbidden anything more dramatic than studs until the girl turned 16. Petra wore her mother’s necklace even to bed.

Only when he’d checked on them all did he pull back into himself, his powers touching one last time on the young woman running next to him. Melody had started joining him on the morning runs more and more often, as content with the silence as he was. Her jewelry changed with her whims, but at some point a small St. Rita’s medal had become a permanent fixture. Erik was oddly touched, though neither of them spoke of it.

He listened to the sound of its hum, faint and steady, as they made their way back home.

000

Erik slowed to a stop as they ran by the hangar bay that also served as a home for the school’s small collection of street vehicles. Melody, used to her teacher’s routine, didn’t even pause as she headed up to the academy to start her morning.

He could sense Hank inside, deep in the guts of his beloved Blackbird, and he smiled a little as he followed the sound of muttering. When he got close enough he heard a definite thump, following by a vehement “Stars and garters!”

Erik’s smile widened into a grin. One of these days, he was going to have to teach Hank how to curse properly.

After a moment, Hank lifted his head enough to see Erik through the cockpit window, and Erik could just catch his embarrassed expression before Hank’s face disappeared. There were a couple more thumps, then Hank stepped out of the plane’s hatch. “Sorry,” he said, rubbing his hands on his workout shorts. “I was half way through my chin-ups suddenly occurred to me that I could ease the pressure on the stealth systems by coupling them through the astro-inertial routers, but…”

Erik chuckled, holding up his hands in a cease-and-desist gesture. “As long as you don’t take the kitchen apart again, I wouldn’t dare limit your tinkering.”

Hank blushed a little, somehow still obvious despite the fur. “Sorry.” He apologized every time someone teased him about it, no matter how long ago it had been. “It took more work than I thought to make the stove Amara-proof.”

Together, they headed over to the car sitting at the corner of the hangar, its wheels removed and perched carefully on cement blocks. Beside it was a wheeled mechanic’s pad, and Hank laid down and wheeled himself underneath the car with practiced ease. When he was in position, he braced the pad and lifted the car off the cement blocks. Once he’d reached full extension, he lowered it again until the bars almost touched. Then he raised it again.

When your weightlifting routine involved a sedan, a metallokinetic was the only safe person to use as a spotter.

Unlike Erik, Hank rarely exercised in silence. After the first few reps, his voice emerged from beneath the car. “Raven’s probably going to try and talk you into siding with her about Giacomo. She thinks if she can get enough people on her side, I’ll change my mind.”

Erik grinned again. The couple’s debate on what to name their first child had served as the school’s main entertainment for weeks now. Sean was taking bets on some of the favorites, Darwin was wise enough to stay out of it, and Alex had taken to avoiding Raven after she made him sorry for mocking one of her choices. He joked that he was only safe when Lorna was there to protect him, but he was cautious enough now that Erik suspected it wasn’t entirely a joke. “Hope springs eternal.”

Hank made an amused noise, the car wavering slightly. Erik lifted his fingers, ready to catch it, but Hank shifted his grip and steadied the car on his own before he spoke again. “I don’t see why. I understand why it’s better than Norton, but there’ve got to be other options.”

Erik raised an eyebrow, curious. “Norton?”

It was a moment before Hank responded. “My dad’s name. Not that I’d ever use it – if Alex ever has children, they’ll be merciless – but I… I kind of wanted it to be a family name.”

Erik was slightly surprised to find that he understood the sentiment. “I can see how that might be a challenge.”

“Yeah.” Hank sounded resigned. “Raven doesn’t remember anything about her parents, and the only grandfather I ever spent any time with had everyone call him ‘Pops’ because he hated his birth name of Kelsey so much. And Charles, well … his parents were … hmmm.”

“I know.” Erik’s expression darkened at the memory of what he’d been able to glean about Charles’s mother and stepfather. If either of them had still been alive….

At the back of his mind, he could feel Charles become restless, clearly picking up on the sudden violence pouring back through the connection. Erik forced himself to take a deep breath, returning the anger back to its resting place.

The silence had firmly settled before Hank spoke again. “What were your grandfathers’ names?”

Erik blinked, startled by the question. “Kurt Eisenhardt and Max Lensherr.”

There was another pause, and slowly Erik realized that Hank was actually mulling them over. “I like those,” he said finally. “Thank you. You may have just saved my unborn son from a lifetime of being stuck with Giacomo Norton.”

Erik’s eyes widened when he realized what the younger man was saying. “Hank, I….”

The younger man quickly set the car down on the cement blocks, then rolled out and pushed himself into a sitting position. “If we can’t use them, I understand. I didn’t ask about your dad because I knew how sensitive that probably was, but there’s nothing that says your grandparents weren’t in the camps, too.”

Erik just stared at him, briefly frozen into speechlessness. Finally, he managed to get his throat clear. “You said you wanted a family name.”

Hank looked confused for a moment, then his expression shifted to suggest disparaging things about Erik’s intelligence. “Exactly. That’s why I asked you.”

Erik’s throat tightened, and he was faintly horrified to find that his eyes were stinging. He turned away, rubbing at them.

_Erik? Is everything alright?_

_Go back to sleep, Charles. I’ll explain later._

He heard Hank move closer. “Like I said, it’s okay if you don’t want us to use them. I was just…”

Erik cleared his throat again, cutting Hank off. “I’d be honored.” By the time he turned around, he’d regained his composure. “Anything to save the child from a lifetime of Giacomo.”

Hank grinned. “See? That’s exactly what I said.”


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen - I don’t think y'all understand. This thing is SO MUCH BIGGER than even what you see here. I’ve been reading X-men comics since I was a kid (the 90’s animated series was my gateway drug) and am good at research, which means I have 50 years of canon to play with, a list of grievances against said canon as long as my arm, and the freedom granted by “X-men: First Class” to pretty much re-arrange the timeline and relationships as I see fit (they did it first, after all). I have charted out a rough timeline of these people’s lives and the progression of mutant rights, etc., all the way to about 2003 or so. We're still in the 1960s in the current chapter, mind you. 
> 
> I have SO many headcanons about this thing, so many plans, so many spinoffs with other characters and pairings I haven’t included here for the sake of your sanity and some hope of narrative coherence. I have detailed meta explanations for why certain things are the way they are that sound like either passages of a history book or the rantings of an insane person. I have made myself an actual SHIRT with the New Ground Academy logo. I’m serious - I wear it around the house. 
> 
> Basically, this is one of those insane private universes that you spend a ridiculous amount of time decorating but never imagine you’ll have to show it to people (let alone explain it all to them). But even now, the response to this fic has been better than I could have imagined, so if you want any of the ancillary stuff just let me know. Write me here, message me on Tumblr, anything - if you have any questions about this little universe of mine, or are curious about anything, rest assured I probably have a far more detailed answer than you ever wanted to hear.

Charles traced his thumb over the curve of his nephew’s downy blue cheek, stunned at the depth of love that already clutched at him. He’d spent the last two years surrounded by children, many of whom were magnificent in their own way, but the affection he felt for them was nothing in comparison to this tiny baby boy he’d only known for a few hours. He couldn’t explain it….

“He’s family.”

Charles’s head shot up at the quiet sound of his sister’s voice, her comment seemingly responding to his thoughts Raven raised an eyebrow at him. Even though she’d just given birth, she looked radiant. “Don’t look so shocked, Charles. As we've discussed before, you're painfully obvious when you're in love.” She leaned over just enough to stroke her fingertips through the baby’s already full head of hair. “And the reason you’re so besotted with him already is because he’s your family. Erik, me, Kurt and even Hank are yours in a way the students can never quite be.”

“Which caused us trouble at one point, if you remember,” he murmured, acknowledging the truth of what she was saying without having to actually form the words. Gently, he prepared to hand Kurt over to his mother without waking him up. “Now, I believe this adorable young man belongs to you.”

Raven stopped him with a touch to the arm. “No,” she said softly. “You keep holding him.” Her smile turned impish. “Though I did think that Erik was supposed to drag _both_ you and Hank back to the mansion for a little sleep.”

Charles felt a faint flush of embarrassment, followed by his love’s amused _I told you so_ at the back of his mind. “Erik … may have insisted on coming back for me after he gets Hank settled in.” At Raven’s grin, he felt the corners of his own mouth tugging upward. “ _I_ managed to get a few hours of sleep last night. Hank did not.”

She just shook her head fondly at him, lightly stroking Kurt’s face and hair. When she looked down at her son, her eyes filled. “Hank said he was beautiful,” Raven whispered.

Charles shifted his hold on Kurt enough to squeeze his sister’s hand. Neither of them needed to speak about the emotional journey Hank had made over the last few years, or how the younger man looked at his wife and son with the kind of naked love he still couldn’t quite find in the mirror.

“Of course he did,” Charles said instead. “The man knows truth when he sees it.” He smiled at his sister. “Kurt has your eyes.”

“And his daddy’s feet.” Raven said delightedly, reaching for her son’s tiny blue toes with her other hand. Little Kurt had already kicked off most of his blankets, an early sign that he had likely inherited his mother’s boundless energy.

Charles tried to be resigned at the thought of the energy he would expend attempting to keep up with both of them, but the idea pleased him far too much. “We’ll have to baby-proof the ceilings as well as the floors.”

Raven laughed. “We’ll manage.” Then her expression softened again, but this time she was looking at Charles. “You can touch his mind, if you want.” She slid her hand free of Charles’s to tap a finger against the side of his forehead. “See what he feels like in here.”

Charles went absolutely still at the offer. He had always respected Raven’s wishes about his powers, no matter how hard it was for him, and he didn’t want her to think that same protection wouldn’t extend to his nieces and nephews. “I don’t have to.”

“He doesn’t have any secrets yet.” She touched Kurt again, tenderly. “And even though you don’t read my mind, I have no doubt you could find me even if I were lost in a crowd of a million people. I want you to know my son that well, too.”

Charles blinked back the sudden wetness in his eyes, his chest full to bursting with far more emotion than he could ever give voice to. Rather than try, he looked down at his nephew and, ever so carefully, sent a tiny feeler of his powers into the surface levels of Kurt’s mind.

It was a sea of nonverbal emotion and basic needs, all touched by a feel that was his nephew’s alone. Much of his identity had not been shaped yet, either through brain development or environmental stimulation, but the child already had a basic sense of who he was.

As if to prove that, he opened his golden eyes and blinked sleepily up at his uncle. Though he knew biologically that it took several weeks for infants to really begin smiling, he could feel pleased recognition in his nephew’s mind at the sight of a face he was already starting to grow familiar with.

When Kurt reached up, Charles’s throat tightened as the tiny blue fingers closed around his. “Hello, little one,” he whispered, more determined than ever that the child would grow up only surrounded by love.

“You did everything you could,” Raven responded, her voice catching as she reached for them both again. When he looked up at her, she smiled. “That time you were projecting.”

As if in confirmation, he felt a concentrated burst of love and support from Erik. Charles, however, knew he should have done more. “I’ll do better this time,” he said quietly, voice rough.

“Shhh. You were wonderful for most of it.” She blinked back her own tears as she kissed the top of her son’s head. “Just keep me from going crazy and we’ll be fine.”

“I’m sure you’ll manage beautifully,” Charles murmured, carefully transferring Kurt to his mother’s arms. Then he smoothed a hand along Raven’s hair. “But I’ll always be here, you know,” he said softly. “For anything you need.”

“I know.” Raven smiled at him, cuddling Kurt close. The baby, supremely content, drifted back off to sleep again.

Charles understood the feeling completely.


	28. Chapter 28

When Raven first placed young Kurt into Erik’s arms – “Your nephew,” she insisted, a stubborn look in her eyes – he had resisted. The softly furred baby had looked so fragile, and though he had learnt gentleness these last few years he couldn’t imagine it would be enough to take care of something so small.

But she and Charles had both insisted, and Kurt settled into his embrace with the same sort of wide-eyed wonder with which he had so far approached everything else. When he wrapped one of his tiny hands around Erik’s finger, the man who had once terrified war criminals across the world was utterly lost.

 _He had a similar effect on me_ , Charles murmured in his mind, the words full of amusement and love. _Raven assures me it’s natural when confronted with such a perfect baby._

“Hey,” Raven cut in from the hospital bed, watching their faces. “If you’re going to compliment my child, at least have the decency to do it out loud where I can hear.”

Hank and Charles both laughed, making Kurt turn his head in interest at the sound. Erik couldn’t stop his own lips from curving. “We do it to torment you,” he told the woman who had become oddly like a sister, gaze still fixed on the baby in his arms. “You know that.”

She huffed. “The worst thing about it is that I know you’re completely serious.”

000

As the days passed, though, Erik realized there were side effects. The fact that something so tiny and fragile was now in his charge sharpened his already fierce protectiveness even more. They were safe here in Genosha for now, but what about the future? Humanity’s capacity for hatred would hardly lessen over time, and there were mutants out there either less capable of protecting themselves or less willing to think about the good of the rest of their species. If the bulk of humanity were made aware of mutants, war would come whether Erik wanted it or not.

 _There was a day when you would have welcomed such a possibility_ , he heard from Charles. There was nothing accusing in the thought, just a sense of solemnity that suggested his own thoughts were running along similar lines.

 _I am far less of a believer in acceptable loss as I once was_ , he responded, following their connection into Charles’s office. _This would be nothing like our missions with the X-men, helping to make the world a safer place. This would be a siege at best, and full-scale carnage at worst._

 _While that is true, we cannot trust the rest of the world not to take the first shot._ When Erik sat down in his usual chair, Charles rolled back from the desk and swung the wheelchair around to face him.  _If I’m forced to choose, I will choose my family and students and leave the rest of the world to burn._

There was a grim certainty in the statement that Erik once would have never believed would come from the eager optimist who had first pulled him from the water. Of course, he hadn’t understood back then that Charles was simply responding differently to the same all-consuming loneliness that had haunted Erik. It was easy to give yourself over ideals when they were all you had, but both of their priorities had shifted since then.  In some ways, it made them even more dangerous.

But he had never forgotten the image of Charles looking up at him from that beach in Cuba, begging Erik not to make him be a part of killing all those people. Charles had chosen him then, as he had again and again since, and Erik could not bring himself to deny Charles the one thing the telepath had ever truly asked of him.

Charles’s expression softened as he caught the thought. _You give me everything, my love. If I get blood on my hands, it will have been my choice to put it there._ His mind turned contemplative.  _But there are other ways to fight wars that don’t require bloodshed. A few whispered thoughts, carefully placed in the right minds, could win us friends in the right places if the worst happened._

There was the faintest undercurrent of worry, a ghost of Charles’s lingering fear that he would one day let his powers make him a monster. Erik didn’t believe it was possible for Charles to embrace the darkness that profoundly, but he also knew that his and Charles’s definitions of “monster” still had some distance between them.

 _Money has its own power, if you’re concerned about exerting too much influence with your gift_ , he thought instead. _As does blackmail, but there you have to be much more delicate._

 _Politics._ Charles’s mental voice sighed as he tilted his head back. _Another thing I should have studied instead of genetics._

The corner of Erik’s mouth quirked up. _At least you were more prepared than I was. Murder has only rarely been a useful skill set, these last few years._ What had led up to the deaths, however, might be more helpful. _I do, however, have some experience in obtaining information that government officials would rather I not know. I can re-open some of those old channels, if you wish, and see if that will help us paint a clearer picture of what buttons should be pressed._

 _See? You underestimate how prepared you were._ His mental voice was lighter as he rolled close enough to lean over for a kiss. _That would be a good first step, I think. Unfortunately, we’ll have to table the rest of this conversation until we sort out the fight that’s just been brought to us._

As if on cue, a small set of fists started pounding on Charles’s closed office door. “Callie won’t let me help in the garden!” Malala shouted.

Erik sighed. They had regular talks with Callie about getting too territorial. “I’ll be out in a minute,” he called, stealing another kiss before getting to his feet. _It looks like we’ll have to go with your idea of the garden rotation. It’s the only way she’ll learn to share._

 _I’ll be the one to break the news to her, if you want._ Charles smiled a little, the words touched by amusement. _I know you hate it when she starts crying._

The differences between this and the issues they were just discussing were staggering, particularly since they both came from the same place. The man he’d been could never have imagined it.

 _Sobbing eight year olds should be classified as weapons_ , he sent, heading for the door. _There are few things in the world more terrifying._

Charles’s laugh was a shimmer in his mind.   _Good thing I’m here to protect you, then._


	29. Chapter 29

After Kurt was born, the X-men went on something of a temporary hiatus. Alex was still happy to go out, but Raven was naturally reluctant to leave her son. Though Sean was willing, his power was more useful for surveys and escapes than close-combat fights, and though Hank still provided technical assistance he'd never been a fighter. Darwin seemed torn about whether he was interested in joining them, and neither Erik nor Charles had any desire to push him. Erik still didn't feel Melody was quite ready, though he privately admitted to Charles that might have been nothing more than reluctance to put her in danger.

So the next time Charles passed along a solid lead, Erik had planned to take care of the matter himself. Charles, however, didn't see things the same way.

 _Not alone._ Charles practically radiated stubbornness, the force of it an almost physical sensation in Erik's head. _And don't try to tell me I'll be with you mentally. You need actual, physical backup._

 _I'll be fine, engel,_ Erik insisted, touched and frustrated in the same breath. _I fought alone for years before I met any of you._

 _But you're not alone now_ , Charles shot back, a complicated tangle of emotion welling up beneath the anger. _Just because I'm crippled doesn't mean I can't be there when you need me._

Erik was incapable of arguing with that, no matter how much he wanted to keep Charles safe. Still, he wasn't about to risk Charles any more than necessary.

Which meant that they needed to come up with a new plan of attack.

000

They were supposed to be bored, rich Europeans, looking for a more exciting variation of a safari by slumming with criminals. Jean Baptiste was the most prolific arms smuggler in South Africa, and the little kingdom he had created was nothing in the face of the life-blood he pumped  to the various armed conflicts that plagued the lower half of the continent.

Erik made one last check of the property, making sure he hadn’t missed a secret cache. There wasn’t one, but he had forgotten about a handgun carried by one of the younger guards. As he had with all the others – including all the cannons on the tanks – the metallokinetic melted the bullets and filled in the barrel until it was a single, solid piece. From the outside, it was impossible to tell anything had been changed.

Subtlety could be more terrifying than force, he’d learned.

 _I’m afraid I’ve failed us in that department_ , Charles sent, walking next to him with an even, measured pace that gave no sign how much his legs hurt with every step. Only someone who knew him well could see the tightness in his face, his attention on broadcasting an estate-wide compulsion for everyone to leave as quickly and orderly as possible. Erik couldn’t feel any true regret from the telepath for what he’d done, but there was a lingering tension in him that meant he was still worrying about it. _If I want to protect us on a worldwide scale, I need to practice handling people delicately. A fully grown man with the mind of a duck is the exact opposite of that._

Erik imagined he could still hear the smuggler’s frantic quacking as he attempted to fly away. _Jean Baptiste needed to be stopped_ , he sent back, closing the few inches between them to take Charles’s arm in his. His power was already in the braces, easing some of Charles' burden. _Some would argue that you were kinder to the man than he deserved._

 _There was nothing kind about what I did. I had meant to simply wipe his mind, but after some of the things I saw..._ Charles sighed, shifting his weight to lean on Erik a little. It wasn't enough, but Erik knew without asking that it was all Charles would allow himself until they were safe at home once again. _What if I bring retribution down on some unsuspecting village because I was attempting to make a point?_

 _How could a village have done all this? Or even an assassin, for that matter._ He still wasn’t entirely comfortable with Charles being so near the action – after Cuba, he preferred it when the man he loved was several miles away from any bullets – but he of all people had no right to stop the telepath from fighting. _If Jean Baptiste had died from a simple heart attack, all of this might have been dismissed. This, however, is a warning._

 _I think what you did to their weapons would have made a sufficient point_ , Charles responded, sounding easier.

 _It will make an even stronger point now._ Hearing people in the distance, Erik locked a few doors as they stepped out into the sunshine. _Who knows, they might even feel it was divine retribution for his crimes._

 _We'd best not start thinking of ourselves as gods,_ Charles said, his mental voice wry. _We both have an unfortunate tendency to get ourselves into trouble when we do that._

 _I don't know,_ he thought back, amused. _I quite enjoy worshiping you._

Charles raised an eyebrow at him. _As flattering as that is, you know that's not what I meant._

 _I do._ Erik shook his head. _We're not gods, engel. But someone must protect people when the gods fail to do so._

Charles tightened his hold on Erik’s arm as he turned a guard’s attention away from them. _I can live with that._


	30. Chapter 30

Hank was usually the one to get up with Kurt.

Alex rolled his eyes at him for it, but Hank didn’t mind. He’d never slept well, his mind too busy whirring along on some project or theorem to be willing to shut down completely, and there were some nights when he simply moved the crib into the lab so that neither of them woke up the rest of the house. Even when he had been asleep, having Raven leave the bed would simply end up waking him as well. It was far more efficient to make sure at least one of them get a full night’s rest.

Besides, it gave him a chance to practice being a father where no one else could see him.

They were in the lab that night, and the crying barely had time to start before Hank set down the beaker he’d been holding, peeled off his gloves, and scooped his son out of the crib. A quick sniff made it clear that Kurt’s diaper was surprisingly clean, and when he showed no interest in the bottle that left gas as the most likely culprit. Previous experimentation had shown that a combination of up-down and side-step bounces were an effective remedy.

(Regular hits to the most padded part of Kurt’s bottom were actually the most effective remedy, but that occasionally had the unwelcome side effect of dislodging the diaper. They were still testing diaper configurations to most effectively accommodate Kurt’s tail, and they were unfortunately not yet out of the beta testing process.)

As Kurt settled, he snuggled in deeper against Hank’s neck and latched his little fingers into his father’s t-shirt. His tail curled against Hank’s arm, as if he wanted to wrap it around but it wasn’t long enough. He brushed his cheek against his father’s fur, making a soft, happy sound.

Hank’s heart squeezed tight, grateful that this hadn’t come to him before he was ready to appreciate it. He wouldn’t have dared trust the man he’d been with something this precious, and the thought of Kurt growing up with anything less than complete acceptance and love from both his parents was too awful to contemplate.

The thought called an image of his own parents to mind, the sadness in their eyes every time they’d bought him shoes while he was growing up. They’d never imagined he was anything like a mutant, just a poor kid with deformed feet, and after his mother’s panic at catching him hanging upside down from one of the rafters he’d been careful to keep that aspect of what he could do secret as well.

“Sometimes I wish you could meet your grandparents,” he whispered to the little boy in his arms, lips against his son’s soft hair. “Sometimes I just wish I could _talk_ to them again, if only to ask if they know some advice about raising kids that I haven’t figured out yet. You’re supposed to go to more experienced people for information, but I just … I can’t ask the parents of the students. I’m the teacher – I’m supposed to know what I’m doing. But it’s the grandparents’ _job_ to help their children fumble through parenthood.”  

He sighed, breathing past the ache in his chest. “But I don’t know what they’d do if they saw me.” They’d been … they’d been good parents, the best they knew how to be. He didn’t want to ruin those memories.

Kurt lifted his head, as if he’d heard the sadness in his father’s voice, and pulled back just enough to look up at Hank with worried eyes. He pet Hank’s cheeks with both of his tiny, soft hands, making soothing noises.

Hank’s eyes filled. “And if they dared do anything less than love you completely, I could never forgive them for it,” he whispered, kissing his son’s cheek. “I can’t risk that.”

“One of the many reasons why I love you.”

Both of the McCoy men immediately turned their heads at the sound of Raven’s voice. She was standing in the doorway to the lab, wrapped in a robe with her red hair ever so slightly sleep mussed. There was a soft expression on her face, like she’d been watching them for awhile.

Hank’s cheeks warmed. “Sorry.” He tucked Kurt back against him, but the little boy kept patting Hank’s neck like he was still worried. “Did we wake you?”

Raven lifted a shoulder. “Sometimes I can’t help noticing the empty space.” She moved towards them, beaming at Kurt. “Hello, sweetheart,” she murmured, fingertips brushing his cheek. Kurt giggled and grabbed her fingers, pulling them close. “Are you having a fun time with Daddy?”

“I don’t know if I’d call it fun,” Hank mumbled. “He was crying, then I was crying….” He shook his head, wiping at his eyes with his free hand. “I should probably apologize to him.”

“Don’t you dare,” Raven said firmly, kissing her husband’s cheek. “It’s good for him to know his father has emotions. Charles and I certainly never saw any sign that his parents did.” She paused. "Actually, Charles isn't terribly good at it, either." She flashed a smile at him. "So you're really ahead of the game."

Hank cleared his throat, pleased but still faintly embarrassed. "Only in front of you and Kurt, though."

"No one else would appreciate it sufficiently." Raven's voice was fond, but then her expression sobered. "I'm sorry about your parents," she said softly, snuggling in close with both Hank and their son. "The rest of us have parents who are either dead or terrible. I forget you had a better relationship with yours."

"'Better' isn't the same as 'good enough,' though." Hank let out a breath, accepting the loss, then gave a decisive nod. He didn't know how long it would take the ache to go away, but it was nothing in the face of the warmth and love he was surrounded by now. The same love he felt every single day, and that he would spend the rest of his life trying to be worthy of. "I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be." Kurt bounced in his arms, hands clapping as if he was agreeing with the statement, and Hank smiled and kissed him. "I'm even happy to be blue."

"Really?" Raven asked softly, hope and love in her voice. "Not that I wouldn't still love you if you changed back, but I have to admit I'm slightly prejudiced in favor of your furry blue look."

"I've realized I am, too." He smiled down at her. "It means I look like my family."


	31. Chapter 31

It was strange, being back in Washington D.C. Charles hadn't been aware of the sensation initially, focused on the larger concern of making certain that his original mind-wipes had held firm in the years that had since passed, but he had since shaken the hand of three separate CIA officials he'd met during that time and not one of them had recognized him.

But the sensation settled over him now, sipping a glass of scotch from his chair as his thoughts darted between the various party guests.  He and Erik had decided to linger, slipping into a few of the more exclusive parties to work on politicians relaxed by drink and privacy. He had been standing, earlier, his braces aided by Erik and putting part of his weight on walls and tables, but despite the precautions his legs already ached. Erik had guided him to a chair, telling him mentally that he would be even more unobtrusive from this position, and Charles allowed himself the comfort of the lie. 

Besides, he had work to do. Charles kept his adjustments simple, mostly structured along the thought that "hatred is bad for business," and though it lacked the poetry of Martin Luther King, Jr. or Malcom X's work it had so far seemed to have at least a little success in Europe.

 _I wish I could do more,_ he sent to Erik, who was on the opposite end of the room gathering information. _Coordinate with King or Malcom somehow. If nothing else, I have more resources than they do._

 _You can donate funds if you wish, but we have our own people to worry about,_ Erik reminded him gently. _Besides, we're not certain our assistance would be welcome. Some of our differences are far harder for humans to accept than a relative trifling like marriage or skin color._

Charles kept his sigh mental, though he rubbed his fingers against the bridge of his nose to chase away the first whispers of a headache. _I won't be able to hold out much longer, I'm afraid. I have no idea how I ever thought there was hope in this place._

I _would never begrudge you that hope. It's likely you would never have found me, otherwise._ The sheer love in the words felt like a soothing hand against his brow. _Give me a few minutes to get over to you, and then we can—_

Erik cut the thought off as Charles' attention caught the feel of a familiar mind enter the room. Emma's telepathic shields still glittered like ice, and there was a faint trace of smugness coming from her that was less than comforting.

 _I can take care of that._ Erik's mental voice carried a distinct chill. _Her death would be extremely comforting to both of us._

 _Not unless she gives us reason, my love,_ Charles sent back, knowing even as he formed the thought that it was a sign of how far his boundaries had migrated. But Shaw would have only brought more harm if he'd been allowed to live, and if Emma was a threat to those he loved then he had no mercy left for her.

He kept all of this tightly within his shields, however, leaving her nothing to work with when she finally announced her presence. _Charles, darling. I never said thank you for making these peons forget that mutants exist._ Her voice was smug, taunting. _It made it so much easier to escape._

Charles silently cursed himself for not being more thorough with that particular loose thread, but the truth was there was only so much he could have done. You couldn't imprison a telepath with measures meant to contain normal humans. _A move that will mean nothing if you make the mistake of reminding them._

 _Oh, with Sebastian gone I'm quite happy remaining a secret._ Emma stepped into view, sipping a martini and wearing a comfortable-looking set of silk pajamas. He suspected that she was projecting an entirely different outfit to everyone else at the party. _It makes my life easier in any number of ways._

Charles felt Erik's anger sharpen at the casual mention of Shaw, but neither Emma's expression or the flavor of her mental voice changed. _I don't know if she knows you're here_ , Charles sent to Erik, fascinated and more than a little relieved. If having Erik inside his shields could protect the man he loved _this_ thoroughly....

 _A fact that will comfort me not at all if she hurts you_ , Erik shot back, though he stopped moving to linger out of visual range.

 _She won't get the chance_ , Charles reassured him.

 _Lost in thought?_   Emma sent, seemingly unaware that he'd been having a mental conversation. _Your shields are more impressive since last we spoke – like steel, almost._

Charles's interest piqued at the metallic reference. _I hadn't noticed_ , he sent to Erik. _Do you mind?_

 _Why would I mind?_ There was still plenty of tension in Erik's voice, but now there was also the briefest touch of amused exasperation. _Sometimes I'm tempted to create actual, physical metal shields for you. If my powers or presence can be of any use in making your mental ones stronger, feel free._

Emma's eyes had narrowed slightly. _It's rude to ignore a woman who is talking to you_ , she snapped. _If you refuse to keep me entertained, I'll have to find someone else who can._

Charles, however, had no patience for games. _I won't stop you from making a living_ , he warned. _But you don't want to cause enough trouble that I'll hear about it later._

A spike of fury from her, manifesting physically in only a raised eyebrow. _And just how_ — The thought cut off suddenly, a breath escaping from her throat as the gold necklace she was wearing tightened around her throat. The skin under the necklace began to shift, her diamond form starting to manifest to protect herself, and Erik promptly let the necklace go to carefully grab each and every one of Emma's fillings.

The diamond skin disappeared instantly, and the necklace tightened again.

 _I misspoke_. Charles corrected, giving the thought an edge.  _I meant we._

That was the moment Erik stepped into view, moving to stand behind Charles. When she saw him, Emma looked confused for a moment, then her eyes widened a fraction. From her mind, Charles caught a wave of shock. _I couldn't sense him_ , she sent, eyes flicking back and forth between them. _He's standing in front of me and I still can't sense him._ The shock was tinged with alarm, now, only growing with every word. _He's the metal in your shields, isn't he? You—What did you do?_

 _What I did doesn't matter_ , Charles sent. _All that matters is that Erik is under my protection._

"As Charles is under mine,"  Erik said out loud, voice low enough not to draw anyone else's attention. "Remember that."

Emma was so still now it almost seemed like she wasn't breathing. _Azazel told me what happened in Cuba_ , she sent, the words suddenly scrubbed free of anything that might be seen as defiant. _I know you beached the sub. There's no need to kill me to prove your power._

It was how she used to speak to Shaw when he'd been in one of his "moods," and deep inside Charles felt Erik wince at the comparison. Still, he let go of each individual piece slowly enough to make a point of it. "As long as you remember I can destroy things much more delicately as well."

 _Clearly_. Emma cleared her throat, rubbing a hand over her neck as she watched the two men. There was no expression on her face, but her thoughts were tinged with wary calculation. _I knew the two of you were working together, but it seems you're a true partnership now._

Charles met her gaze. _In every way._

 _Oh, I picked up on that. You're keeping him inside your shields._ Even as guarded as she was being, there was still a whiff of incredulousness in the thought. She turned to Erik. _And you, for some reason, seem quite happy to be there._

Erik smiled his shark's smile. "What, no one wanting to keep you that close?"

She didn't respond to him, but Charles could feel her flinch. _I will remember your warning, and pass it along to anyone I consider worth saving_ , she sent after a minute, mental voice utterly serious. _And if the two of you ever decide to make your play for world domination, consider this my job application. No matter what history we have between us, I would much rather be behind you than standing in your way._

She slipped back into the crowd, leaving Charles astonished. _I know we joke about being frightening_ , he sent to Erik, keeping his expression completely controlled. _But I have to say that I wasn't expecting to intimidate her quite so thoroughly._

 _It continually fascinates me that you seem unable to grasp the fact that you may be the most powerful mutant alive._ Erik squeezed Charles' shoulder, mental voice gentle. _Since I met you and found that mythical place between rage and serenity, my own powers have grown exponentially. If I put enough effort into it, the amount of natural metals in the ground mean I could likely cause an earthquake._ There was no arrogance in the thought, just a simple recitation of fact. _As for your powers ... I wouldn't dare guess a limit. Between us, we could wipe out an army's entire infrastructure and turn their leaders into puppets within mere moments._

Charles tilted his head back so he could look up into Erik's eyes. He could feel the vast sweep of Erik's power, a hum that was far louder here than it was in Genosha. No matter the volume, he'd always found it comforting. _I forget that you're dangerous_ , he admitted silently.

Erik's lips curved upward. _A wonder I am grateful for daily. But it is better for us, engel, that others do not make that same mistake._

He lifted a hand to cover Erik's, hiding the gesture from the other guests as he watched the crowd circulate around them. He could do whatever he wanted to them, if he chose to. If he didn't worry about them being functional afterward, he wouldn't even have to strain himself.

 _Do I ever frighten you?_ he asked, the thought barely a whisper.

 _No_ , Erik answered immediately, a wonderful amount of reassurance in the word. _If you want a logical, comforting reason why, I'm not good enough with either words or emotions to give you one. But once I knew you, I've never been frightened of what you were capable of._

Something deep inside Charles' chest eased, and he closed his eyes. _Thank you_ , he sent, imbuing the words with all the love and gratitude in his heart. _Can we go home now?_

Erik squeezed his shoulder again, reflecting every ounce of the emotion back to him. _I'll make the necessary arrangements._


	32. Chapter 32

There was something remarkably comforting about watching children grow, whether it was Kurt learning his first words, the younger students mastering their powers, or the older students understanding what it meant to be an adult. The moments unfolded into one another like the flowers in his mother’s window box, making the future seem like a thing of sunlight rather than shadows.

Erik would have never dared take credit for that growth, but he also couldn’t deny that he’d had some part in it. That he was a better protector, and teacher, than he’d ever fathomed he could be during those dark days when pain and the hunger for vengeance was all he’d known. That there was some good in him, just like Charles had insisted all those years ago.

These days, he was finally starting to let himself believe it.  

000

“Look at me, Uncle Erik!” Kurt, who’d only turned three a few short weeks before, waved at Erik from the top of the 20-foot tall jungle gym Hank and Erik had created for him.  He was hanging upside-down from one of the top-most bars, his feet wrapped securely around it while his hands and tail did the waving. “See how high I am!”

“Good job, Mausi!” Erik called to his nephew, feeling pride for the toddler well up in his chest. Every member of his family was utterly remarkable. “Soon you’ll be higher than the birds!”

 _Don’t give him any ideas_ , Charles said in his mind.

A heartbeat later, Darwin echoed the sentiment. “My powers can’t grow me wings unless I’m the one falling, and if I let anything happen to the little guy they _definitely_ won’t be enough to save me from Raven,” he said, standing in his usual position next to the jungle gym. The younger man had taken on the official responsibility of overseeing Kurt’s climbing development, since his parents and uncles had a tendency to be a little more overprotective or ambitious (depending on the specific person) than was strictly necessary.

 _Though I still say I’m right,_ Erik sent back to the man who was his husband in every way but legalities. _As long as Hank and I keep making his practice structures out of metal, there’s no reason to limit him. All he has to do is call for me, and I’ll be able to catch him._

 _And Hank is confident enough in the climbing ability he inherited to believe he won’t need to be caught,_ Charles finished. _However, the two of you love Raven and I, and would be sad if either of us succumbed to a worry-induced heart attack._

Erik’s lips curved upward. Bold, defiant Raven had proven to be a surprisingly cautious mother. _A metal climbing gym hardly rates as a danger, engel._

_Forgive me if I’m less than comforted by your definition of the word “danger,” my love._

Next to him, Darwin chuckled. “Raven’s right – it’s both weirdly sweet and kind of annoying when you two do that.”

Even as young as he was, it was just as easy for Kurt to recognize the sight of his uncles caught up in a mind-to-mind conversation. Unfortunately, though, it meant that he was no longer getting the attention from Erik that he’d been hoping for. “Uncle Erik! Darwin!” He swung along the bars with a natural grace, his movements secure enough that it wasn’t until he’d gotten to the edge-most bar that Erik realized what he intended to do. “Look!” He leapt towards Erik, arms outstretched, and the order for Kurt to stay where he was strangled and died before it made it out of Darwin’s mouth. “I’m a bird!”

Erik’s pulse kicked slightly, but he knew he had the situation well in hand. He moved into position, reaching his arms up to catch Kurt, and used his powers to grab hold of the jungle gym to serve as backup. That wouldn’t be necessary, though – at this angle, he would be able to catch—

With a pop, Kurt disappeared in midair.

There was a heartbeat where Erik was frozen, logical thought rendered silent by the awful sensation that he had been plunged back into a nightmare. He had made so many enemies over the years, enemies who could have found themselves mutant allies who could steal children out of thin air. He felt Charles sense his fear, beginning to form a wordless, worried query, but what could he say? The wolf was back at their door, and he was so afraid it was somehow his fault? That—

It was both an eternity and barely long enough to draw a few breaths, all of it crashing to a stop when another pop of air left Erik with an armful of furry blue nephew. Kurt was delighted, throwing his arms around Erik’s neck with a triumphant crow that left Erik unsure whether the little boy was even fully aware of what had just happened. “I flew! I flew right down to you!”

Erik forced himself to start breathing again as he wrapped his arms around the little boy, pressing his face against his neck. Darwin scrubbed his hands over his face, looking a little ragged himself. “Guess we have a teleporter in the family,” he managed, sounding both relieved and completely overwhelmed. “Babysitting’s gonna be fun.”

 _I've informed Raven_ , Charles sent, his mental tone sounding remarkably familiar to Darwin's. _I'll keep mental track of him, but I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure where to begin on developing a training program_. A sigh. _The geneticist in me is fascinated by the sudden appearance of a secondary mutation, but the uncle in me wishes this had come along when he was old enough that I could trust he would follow instructions._

 _He's Raven's son_ , Erik sent back, feeling the knot of panic finally ease. _I'm not sure we'll ever be able to trust him to follow instructions._

Hearing the sound of footsteps, he turned his head just in time to see Raven running towards them. When Kurt saw her, he made a delighted sound. "Mo—" There was another pop, and Erik's arms were suddenly empty. An instant later, he appeared in Raven's arms. "—mmy!" He threw his arms around his mother's neck. "Did you see me?"

"Yes, I did," Raven told him, eyes still wide and letting out her own shaky breath as she kissed her son. "I guess we can tell your father he can stop working on that teleportation project."

"And start working on a tracker," Erik said firmly as he and Darwin headed towards her. "I'll make him a metal bracelet that he can wear all the time as well. I'll make the alloy specific enough that I'll be able to track it anywhere."

 _Actually, that would be a good idea for all of the students, if you'd be willing_ , Charles sent.

Darwin echoed the sentiment out loud a moment later. "It's not as much of a risk for the rest of them, but it'd be nice to have two people who could track them anywhere."

"Don't mention that in front of Hank, though," Raven cut in. "He mentioned something about tracking chips for when Kurt gets older, and he didn't even know about the teleportation."

Erik sighed, feeling a burst of amusement and love from Charles. Children certainly made your life far more complicated. "I'll see what I can do."


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: In my world, Erik isn't the twins' bio dad - they're young enough that the math just doesn't work. Also, Magda is definitely not their mom. Given what happens in this chapter, I thought it important to specify that.

For the longest time, Charles had lived a pauper's life.

Not monetarily – telepathy-aided wagers had allowed he and Raven to live comfortably even before the inheritance had come in, and similarly aided investments had kept the coffers full despite the expenditures of the last several years. When it came to people who truly cared whether he'd lived or died, however, he'd had absolutely no one. When Raven had suddenly appeared, an intoxicating spot of warmth in an otherwise cold childhood, he'd continued to cling to her with the desperation of a destitute man watching his last few pennies slowly trickle away to nothing.

Then his life had changed, tipping him into years of such bounty he would have never dared imagine it. He was surrounded by neighbors who welcomed his powers rather than feared them, shared charge of an entire school full of students who admired, trusted and even needed him, dear friends with whom he could discuss anything, an unexpected brother in Hank, his beloved, ever-blossoming sister, his fearless, gentle nephew and the later arrival of his fierce, equally impetuous little niece (Rahne, the victim of Raven's continued insistence that at least one of her children have a name as exotic-sounding as her own). At the center of it all was Erik, so deeply entrenched in Charles's heart, mind and soul that it felt as though he would never be alone again.

Together, they were riches enough for a thousand lifetimes. Charles, grateful beyond what he had the words to express, would have never thought to ask for more.

OOO

Charles's mind skimmed along the sea of people stretched out before him, searching for the mutants who would be best helped by coming to the school. He caught the edge of a familiar, gruff mind in Japan, though for a moment he couldn't place where he'd run into it before....

 _When we were recruiting for the CIA_ , Erik filled in, his mental voice amused. _If I remember correctly, I believe he told us to go fuck ourselves._

There was a flash of memory, though it was impossible to tell which of their minds it came from. _Probably not worth the flight, then_ , Charles responded ruefully. _Though we should keep an eye on—_

_Help us. Please._

The words were a mere whisper, so quiet they almost didn't seem like thoughts, but there was something so desperately insistent about them that they stopped Charles mid-sentence. _That doesn't sound like one of the students_ , Erik said after a moment, their connection having left him nearly as familiar with the students' mental voices as Charles was himself.

 _It's not_. Charles veered them both toward Europe, following the sense of urgency. He'd never had anyone reach out while he was in Cerebro, and while he knew he should consider the possibility that it's a trap—

_You should, engel._

_If you thought there was an actual threat, my love, you would have protested well before the thought could have occurred to me. It feels..._   He caught another plea, wrapped tight in yearning and heartbreak. _It feels like a child._

 _Children can be dangerous_. But there was no real conviction behind the argument, no heat to counter the compassion willing up beneath the surface of the thought. Erik had once been a child in desperate need of help.

Erik sighed. _Tell me where._

 _Bucharest. I'm getting a closer location now._ Charles assembled the geography from people's minds, winding his way along increasingly poor back alleys. There were no addresses here, none of the marks of civilization, which meant he would need to find it again by memory and the pull off the little girl's mind. Only he wasn't sure he'd found her mind yet, just a desperate enough wish to cross the miles.

There. A little girl and boy, trying desperately to sleep in the back corner of a filthy space not much larger than a closet. The boy's hair glowed white blonde in the darkness, while the girl's own memories showed tendrils of dark brown hair. Their mother had been missing for days, both children too young to have any clue about what might have happened. They had been responsible for feeding themselves long before that.

 _Wanda_. He plucked the name from the surface of her thoughts, said in her brother's voice. Everyone else, it seemed, had far worse names for her. _Wanda, we're coming for you_. He had no idea whether or not they were mutants, the visual difference in Cerebro nothing more than an annotation in his mind. What they were, however, didn't matter. They needed a home, and he had one. _You just have to hold on until we get there._

 _We can be there by morning_ , Erik added, a steady support in the back of Charles's thoughts.

 _It will be soon_ , Charles soothed. _Just one more night._

 _You're really coming?_ she sent, the meaning reaching through the syllables of her native tongue. There was no confusion in the thought, no uncertainty at being suddenly confronted with the disembodied voice of a stranger in her mind. Just tentative, heartbreaking hope. _You'll take me and Pietro somewhere safe?_

 _Yes_. Charles poured every ounce of assurance he possessed into the word.

 _Tell them to hide in their secret place_ , Erik murmured, seeing Wanda's memories just as Charles was. _The loose board, where they've hidden the food. I know they worry about being able to get out, but we'll help them do that once we get there._

Charles relayed the information. _You'll be safer there. Then we'll take you home, and you and Pietro won't have to worry about that anymore_. He felt Erik's hand tighten on his shoulder, a wave of reassurance between their thoughts. Charles's chest felt tight, and he suspected Erik was picking up on memories Charles had spent years learning not to look at too closely.

 _We both know what it's like to be alone in the world_ , Erik sent, confirming it.

Wanda, though, heard none of that. _I've never been "home" before_ , she sent instead, a touch of awe in her mental voice as she turned the word over in her thoughts. _What's it like?_

Charles know from personal experience that mere words could never be enough to answer such a question. _Let us bring you here and show you._


	34. Chapter 34

After the first morning the twins woke up exhausted, Charles started mentally listening for them in the night. Their nightmares were full of cold and darkness and large angry fists, jagged enough that even their echo yanked the telepath out of what had been a sound sleep.

Erik was awake a second later, lifting his head to look at Charles with a resigned expression. “The twins?”

Charles nodded, trying to send soothing thoughts into the children’s minds. _You’re safe. None of this is real_. But they didn’t completely trust their new lives yet, and though they settled a little it wasn’t enough to completely shake the grip of the nightmares. They needed touch.

With a sigh, he pushed himself into a sitting position. “We need to move them closer to our room.” He leaned sideways, dragging the wheelchair towards him. He rarely used it during the day anymore, but at night it was considerably faster than the braces and cane.

Erik, who had sat up as well, stopped him with a hand on his leg. “I’ll do it.” He stood, pulling on the pajama pants he kept by the side of the bed. “If you’re going to insist on adopting them, I may as well start fumbling my way through fatherhood now.”

It was the first time either of them had used that particular word, though Charles had never tried to hide his attachment to the children from the other man. Erik was being far more cautious about his own feelings, though Charles sensed no resignation from him. Anything more complicated than acceptance, however, was buried deeply enough that Charles would have to go digging for it.

When you loved someone, you didn’t dig. You asked. _I would love nothing more than to raise these children with you,_ he sent, each thought careful. _For them to be_ ours _. But it’s not only my choice, Erik._

Charles hadn’t quite been brave enough to form the actual question, but it was clear that Erik had felt it just the same. His expression didn’t change, but there was the faintest tendril of surprise in his mind. _You could pretend they were merely another set of students._

The telepath’s fingers curled, pressing close to feel the outline of the ring he had worn for so long. _I won’t be separated from you, even for this._

Erik tugged lightly on their link, and Charles tumbled gratefully into the depths of Erik’s mind. There was the natural hesitation of a man who never gave his heart easily, along with worry that he had no idea how to raise a child – _Erik, love, I’m no better at it than you are_ – but there was also a resolve to protect these children as the world had failed to. Threaded through that resolve were the first flickers of the possessiveness Erik felt for everyone who truly mattered to him.

Beneath it all was the love upon which Charles had built his life. _Do you really think I’d let myself be separated from you that easily?_

Charles had to close his eyes a moment, throat too tight for his voice to have any chance of working. _I'll be there mentally in case any of you need anything._

 “I know you will,” Erik said aloud, fingers sliding through the telepath’s hair as he leaned down for a kiss.

Charles’s fingers closed lightly around Erik’s wrist, stroking. When they pulled apart, he smiled up at the other man. “Pietro reminds me of you, you know,” he murmured.

Erik straightened, narrowing his eyes in a mock scowl. There was too much tenderness radiating out of him for it to be at all believable. “Now is not the time to frighten me, engel.”

The smile lingered as he watched Erik walk out the door. _I love you,_ he sent, infusing each word with all the depth of feeling it could hold.

A moment later, Erik’s thought returned as clear as if he were standing next to him. _I love you, too._

000

By the time Erik made it to the room the twins shared, Pietro was already awake and next to his sister’s bed. “Wanda,” the little boy whispered, shaking her shoulder. Both children spoke Romanian, but Erik knew the language well enough to understand them. What nuances he might miss, Charles could read. “Please don't cry. You need to wake up."

 “Pietro.” The boy’s head jerked up sharply at the sound of another voice, but Erik was gratified to see that the child relaxed again when he saw who it was. Even after all these years, he was still faintly surprised by the thought that he could inspire trust in people. “Let me try.”

After a moment, Pietro nodded and moved aside just enough so that Erik would have room to sit on the edge of Wanda’s bed. The little girl had her face buried in the pillow, shoulders shaking.

 _She’s still deeply asleep_ , Charles sent him. _She’s hiding from one of the men who their mother slept with. She can’t find Pietro._

Thinking of his and Charles’ own nightmares, Erik laid a hand against the child’s back and bent close to her ear. “I killed the man, spatzi,” he murmured, using Romanian before the German endearment slipped out. “He’s dead on the floor. He’ll never bother you or Pietro again.”

Her shoulders stilled. He heard Charles murmur to the little girl. _Pietro’s safe with me. He’s safe. Erik’s come to take you home with us._

The tension eased out of Wanda’s shoulders, and she shifted her head so she could breathe more comfortably. Pietro lightly brushed away the tear tracks on her cheeks, then looked up at Erik. “Are you keeping us?” he asked quietly, eyes too solemn for someone so small. “Mr. Xavier said we could stay, but he’s maybe just being nice. You won’t lie to be nice.”

 “Mr. Xavier doesn’t lie, either.” Erik smoothed a hand over the boy’s pale blond hair, accepting the pull he felt toward both of them. He wondered at the universe’s sense of humor, to give someone like him care of children who were so broken.

At least he wouldn’t be afraid of the sharp edges. “You never have to leave this place if you don’t want to,” he said quietly.

Pietro met his eyes for a long moment, then nodded. He climbed into his sister’s bed, who even in her sleep scooted over to make room for him.

Erik stood. “Mr. Xavier will guard your dreams. If he says something to you, here or there, know that it's the truth.”

The boy nodded again, and Erik told himself firmly that there was nothing more he could do for the children at the moment. He turned around, heading for the door when he heard Pietro’s voice. “Would you really have killed the man?” There was a sudden fragility to the question, one Erik hadn’t heard from the boy before. “If he’d been real?”

Erik turned, meeting Pietro’s eyes. “I will kill anyone who tries to hurt either of you.” He made it clear the words were nothing more than simple, irrefutable fact. “I promise.”

 “Thank you,” Pietro whispered, then closed his eyes and laid his head down on the pillow.

Quietly, Erik closed the door behind him. _We need to move them closer to our room_ , Erik sent to Charles.  

 _We’ll take care of it in the morning_ , Charles replied, kindly not pointing out that he’d been the first one to make the suggestion. _You were good with Pietro, you know._

 _When you live with violence, you find the proper application of it comforting._ He headed up the stairs to their room. _I suspect you’ll have to talk to him about the balance between rage and serenity in a few years._

He could feel the smile in Charles' thoughts. _Luckily you’ll be here to help me, then._


	35. Chapter 35

Pietro was standing just in front of the academy’s main doors, arms stiff at his sides and a stubborn tilt to his chin. Clearly, he was expecting an argument, and given the fact that it wasn’t quite dawn there was only one likely topic of conversation.

Erik bit back the urge to smile. “I take it you have something to discuss with me?”

Pietro hesitated, as if he’d expected a “no” even before the question had been asked, then re-gathered his resolve and pushed ahead. “I want to go running with you.” Despite the progress he’d made in English, the five-year-old still spoke Romanian whenever he could. “I’ll keep up, and I won’t get tired and give up partway. I promise I won’t slow you down.”

Erik crouched down in front of the five-year-old, wishing that Charles were awake to get a better sense of the boy’s emotions. He didn’t doubt that Pietro would pour everything he had into attempting to last the entire route – it had disoriented Erik more than once to see such terrifying focus from the outside – but Erik’s morning routine regularly reduced grown men and women to tears.

He could shorten the route, of course, and undoubtedly would. But he would have to be careful, or Pietro would think he wasn’t being taken seriously.

As if he’d heard the thought, Pietro narrowed his eyes. “I know you’re trying to figure out how to tell me no.”

As he straightened, Erik did let himself smile a little at the challenge in the words. It was probably cosmic justice that he would end up with a child so much like himself – he suspected his mutti would have laughed – but it did mean that Charles was clearly insane for choosing to take on two of them.

He ruffled the boy’s hair as he moved past him to head outside. “Wrong guess, barchen."

For a second, there was only silence behind him. Then Erik heard the sound of tiny feet running to catch up, and he grinned as he used his powers to close and lock the door behind him.

000

After a quarter mile, Pietro showed no signs of tiring. Instead, he looked oddly agitated, as if a part of him was unsatisfied with the physical effort he was putting out. It took a little while for Erik to realize the possible cause.

 “You don’t have to wait for me, you know,” he told Pietro. The boy looked up, startled, and Erik met his eyes. “Don’t go too far ahead, or I might not be able to get to you in time if something dangerous happened. But your school bracelet will let me know where you are.”

Pietro hesitated another second, then charged ahead with a speed that made Erik think they were seeing the beginnings of the boy’s mutant power. Within a few minutes he was nothing more than a tiny figure in the distance, but Erik could still feel the steady song of the bracelet on the five-year-old’s wrist. It looked exactly the same as the one worn by all students and teachers at the school, but Erik had made it of the same alloy worn by only two other people – Wanda and Charles. He would be able to recognize it even if all the world’s metal stood in his way.

Erik kept running, absently tracking the bracelet’s movements. Pietro was clearly pushing himself, picking up more and more speed as he went, enough so that it was a surprise when the boy stopped completely. Erik concentrated, wondering if something had happened, but Pietro didn’t seem to have fallen or been thrown in any way. He had just suddenly stopped running.

Then, just as suddenly, Pietro turned around and headed back. Erik quickened his pace, wondering if the child had seen something and was running back to report, but even when he got within earshot Pietro still didn’t say anything. He simply relaxed, his serious expression slowly melting into a grin when he met Erik’s gaze.

It would have taken a heart of stone not to grin back.

Pietro threw his hands up in the air and whooped, running past Erik to bank hard and circle around him. Erik expected him to run off into the distance again, but instead the boy stayed within a few dozen feet of Erik. Pietro dashed back and forth, making circles and stars and kicking up his legs, his face alight with the joy of moving. He laughed, turning back around again, and Erik felt the boy’s delight seep in through his own bones and muscles. 

Soon, he felt the warm brush of Charles’s mind, sending his own affection and awareness of what was happening. Erik asked him if he wanted to see for himself, letting the other man share his eyes without even a flicker of hesitation. It only heightened his pleasure in the moment to let Charles share it with him.

Too soon, Charles slipped away again with a feeling of apology. Apparently, Wanda had been chased from bed as well. _It seems I’ve surrounded myself with people who fail to appreciate sleep properly,_ the telepath sent, the words far more rich with feeling than spoken language could ever quite manage. _I’ll see you both soon._

Erik sent back a feeling of amused understanding. _We’ll convert you eventually._ The words shivered lightly under his skin, an echo of their past and the promise of a long future stretched out in front of them. He had never considered children of his own, any more than he had considered a love that had saved his soul, a family that had nothing to do with blood, or a life’s work that had more to do with growth than destruction. Those things had been meant for someone else, and it was only through some cosmic accounting error that they had fallen into his lap.

Even after all these years, he never failed to cherish every second of the entirely undeserved gift.

Pietro was in front of him now, running backwards and grinning up at Erik. “See? I told you I could keep up.”

 “I never doubted you for a moment,” Erik grinned back. “Don’t feel you have to wait for me, though. I meant what I said.”

Pietro shrugged. “I don’t—” Whatever else he’d been about to say was cut off when he tripped, proving that eyes in the back of his head were definitely _not_ a part of his mutation.

Erik was by his side in an instant, checking for injuries. Pietro’s pride seemed more bruised than anything else, but he didn’t object when Erik pulled him into a hug. “It’s not as fun when you’re not there, too,” Pietro whispered, squeezing Erik tight for just a second. Then he pulled away, racing off in another circle.

Erik, throat tight with more emotion than he could ever give voice to, sat down for a moment and let himself watch.


	36. Chapter 36

Erik’s amusement and wonder shimmered through Charles’s half-conscious mind like light on water. Apparently, five year old Pietro was just as excited by the prospect of waking up at an absurd hour of the morning as Erik was, and even more so by the idea of running for pleasure. The boy had been reserved at first, but now it seemed he was literally running circles around Erik. Pietro’s energy would likely run out long before Erik’s route was complete, but for now his enthusiasm was something for all three of them to revel in.

Charles smiled, not opening his eyes. He let his own amusement and affection flow back to Erik, and the other man responded with a wordless offer to let Charles see for himself. The mental shift was second nature by this point, and through his closed lids Charles could see Pietro run out ahead of Erik and circle back, his whole face lit up with a kind of stunned joy that made Charles’s chest tighten….

 “Mr. Xavier?” The quietest of whispers, spoken in surprisingly good English for one who had learned the language so recently. Wanda, he had learned by now, was precise and careful in everything she did. “Are you awake?”

Sending Erik a silent explanation, Charles returned to his own body enough to open his eyes and look at the five-year-old girl standing beside the bed. She still had her nightgown on, her arms folded across her chest. Her expression was still far too solemn, but at least it no longer had that undercurrent of buried terror it once did. Charles had long ago learned to take victories where he could find them.

When Wanda didn’t say anything else, he sent a sense of welcome into her mind. “Indeed I am,” he said gently. “If you’re wondering where Pietro went, I believe he’s gone running with Mr. Lensherr. They should both be back shortly.”

 “I know,” she said quietly, her expression not easing at all. “Pietro told me before we went to bed last night.” A hesitation, her mind carrying the weight of something both secret and hugely important. “I … wanted to know something else. A question.”

Charles could not begin to imagine what it might be, and didn’t want to go deep enough into her mind without asking to find out for himself. Instead, he shifted around so that he was facing Wanda, expression a solemn mirror of hers. “Ask away, sweetheart.”

She took a deep breath, to steady herself. Then she lets the words out, quickly enough that she couldn’t trip over them. “What made you come get us?”

Charles hesitated. He could still feel her sense of how important the question was, along with the edge of some profound worry that made him even more cautious in how he answered. But any further clues were hidden deep. “I saw you with Cerebro,” he said carefully. He had shown it to both Wanda and Pietro soon after they arrived. “I found several students at the school using—”

Wanda shook her head, cutting him off with a flare of frustration. “I know that. But they are already older, and their powers are already easy to see. I want to know what made you get _us_.”

She was right, in a way. Neither of the twins’ abilities seemed to have manifested yet, a fact that set them apart from every other student at the school. Though that might be the source of whatever was troubling her…. “Has one of the other students said something to you?” he asked, feeling his own concern and frustration rise.

Wanda shook her head again. “No.” She hesitated, worrying her lower lip. “I can make things happen if I wish for them really, really hard.”

Her thoughts carried vague images of one of her mother’s boyfriends suddenly stumbling out into a busy street and food being found near garbage cans. Charles made a mental note that her abilities might not be as dormant as they’d thought. “I’m sure that was a great help to you and your brother.”

He didn’t expect the sudden guilt that came rolling out of her. “I think I might have made you come get us.” When Charles’s eyes widened, she flinched a little. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I just wanted us to be safe, and have a home, but you were so wonderful I….”

The words trailed off when Charles propped himself up enough to reach over and pull her into a one-armed hug, cursing himself for not somehow sensing the worry that she’d been holding onto so tightly. There were so many of these children’s scars he couldn’t magically fix – though how he wanted to – but this one would have been so simple.

Wanda was frozen for a second, then she lost her tension all at once and let herself be held. Charles closed his eyes. “I heard you,” he murmured. “I heard you wishing when I was using Cerebro, and I felt how wonderfully brave you and your brother were. I knew what it was like to not have a home, and I wanted so _badly_ to be the one to give it to you both.” He pulled back enough to meet her eyes, sending her all his conviction. “The only thing your wish did was help me find you. Erik and I wanted to bring you here all on our own.”

The words skimmed lightly over a surprising depth of yearning Charles himself didn’t entirely understand. He’d abandoned the idea of becoming a father a long time ago, deciding he couldn’t risk the depth of relationship he felt was a requirement for bringing children into the world. The school was more than he’d ever expected, as were Kurt and Rahne, and he’d thought himself absolutely content to spend his life as only a teacher and uncle.

Then he’d felt a brother and sister desperate to save each other, and Charles realized he hadn’t cast off the hope of fatherhood quite so thoroughly as he’d once thought.

Charles sensed Wanda slowly letting herself be convinced, the worry inside her ebbing away. Then she yawned, sleepiness creeping in along with a half-formed thought that her own bedroom was too lonely without Pietro there.

Chest tight, Charles scooted back and lifted the edge of the blanket. With a smile, Wanda climbed up and let Charles tuck her back in. “Can I stay?” she asked, already sounding drowsy.

“Of course.” No one would be expecting Charles for nearly another hour. Erik’s day really did start appallingly early. “Pietro and Erik will wake us up when they get back.”

“Good,” Wanda murmured, her eyes already closed. “I’m glad my wish found you.”

Charles kissed her hair, blinking back the sudden wetness in his eyes. “Me, too.” 

 


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But I needed this.

_There was a terrifying sense of absence at the edges of Erik’s awareness, blank emptiness where the world had once spread out before him. Charles’s world, a mind so wide and magnificent that the shared space inside their heads had felt infinite and endless._

_Now, it felt hollow. It had slipped away while they had all denied the inevitable, the ravages of time both a tragedy and a disaster of epic proportions. And now… they were all far, far too late._

_“Where are my glasses? I can’t find my glasses.” Charles circled the room for the thousandth time in his chair, blind, uncaring students following him like automatons. He’d taken over everyone in the mansion, sending them wandering around numbly for his glasses with no more self-awareness than those robots who cleaned floors. With Charles’s self-control shattered, there was too great a possibility that there would be no more self-awareness ever again._

_The telepaths were on the floor, unmoving, their minds broken with the same carelessness that a child would use to smash a toy that had displeased him. Wanda was among them, eyes unseeing and cheeks streaked with bloody tears, and—_

_Erik stopped, realizing that she wouldn’t be among the group on the ground. That wasn’t how the child’s power worked. Even as he thought it she was on her feet, moving mindlessly with the other automatons, and Erik finally realized what was happening._

Charles! This isn’t real! _He pushed his way through the crowd of nightmares, grabbing Charles by the front of his shirt and shaking him._ You’re having a nightmare! You need to wake up!

_Charles focused on him with eyes that held no recognition. “Get out of my way!” he shouted. “I need to find my glasses!”_

_He felt Charles’s mind tense up for another throw of anger, knew he had only seconds before he would be kicked out of the nightmare by his “death” and Charles left trapped in it alone. As the mental blow came, he used his power to pick up one of the fireplace pokers and stab them both through the heart._

Erik’s eyes flew open at the same moment he heard Charles gasp, and wanted to feel some measure of relief as he turned to see his husband in all but legalities staring up at their bedroom ceiling with wide, thankfully awake eyes. But he couldn’t, because the misery, horror and pain pouring out of Charles was worse than a hundred knives would have been. “Thank you for finally killing me,” Charles whispered, sounding broken. “If you need me to leave the bed for the rest of the night, I understand.”

Erik swore and pulled Charles into his arms, holding on as tightly as he could. “Don’t be stupid,” he muttered, rocking Charles a little the same way he’d started to do to the children when they had nightmares. “As if I’d ever risk leaving you alone in that hell.”

“If it really happens, you won’t have a choice.” Charles held onto Erik just as tightly, voice and mind both raw and trembling. He could feel the unshed tears, both in Charles’s voice and in the touch of his thoughts. “And it _could_. Senility and dementia happen in elderly people all the time.”

Erik’s chest clenched. He would take on the entire world for Charles, but this was one enemy he couldn’t kill. “In your family?” he asked, voice rough.

“They all drank themselves to death before it could become an issue. But I want to _live_.” The last word was an aching whisper against Erik’s skin, but then Charles pushed himself up on his forearms to look down at him. “Promise me you’ll kill me.” His eyes glimmered wetly in the low light flickering in through the windows, but iron-hard determination radiated out of him. “At the first signs, before it comes anywhere close to what we just saw. Don’t let me become that. Don’t let me do that to you, or anyone else.”

Erik had no doubt that he would. As much as the very thought of it pained him, Erik knew that in those circumstances saving Charles’s body would do nothing to keep the man he loved close to him. And, loving Charles as he did, how could he let him suffer like that?

He lifted a hand to cradle Charles’s face. “We must give Hank the chance to work his magic.” Charles tensed, but clearly sensed enough of Erik’s intent not to argue. “But if there is truly nothing to be done, we will go together long before that monstrosity could ever become reality. I swear it.”

There was a wash of heartbroken denial from Charles, and for a second Erik thought that his engel would try to argue about Erik following him into death. But he should have known better. “You can’t leave it up to Hank, or Raven.” The words were raw. “They won’t understand.”

“I will know when you are slipping away from me, engel.” His thumb caressed Charles’s cheek. “And I know that you would rather die a thousand deaths than let your beautiful, magnificent mind hurt those you love.” While there was breath left in his body, he would not allow that to happen to Charles. “Trust me that, should the time come, I will not fail you.”

Charles collapsed back against his chest, radiating relief like a cool breeze against Erik’s thoughts. “How?”

“I’ll poison our nightly tea.” He had rarely used poison, during his days as an assassin, and when he had the types and doses had always been calculated to make the victim suffer as much as possible. But he knew there were gentler options, the wisdom passed onto him in hushed whispers by those who had survived the camps. “We’ll have just enough time to say goodbye, then slip off to sleep together.”

Charles pressed a kiss to Erik’s skin, mind full of a dark peace. _Thank you_ , he murmured in Erik’s thoughts, finally content enough to trust his mental voice again.

That close, however, and it was impossible for him not to brush across Erik’s one doubt. _But… if I do not live long enough…._

He could feel Charles actually smile at that. _If you die of anything but the oldest of old age, my love, I can promise you I won’t live long enough for senility to become a concern._ He raised himself up again, enough to capture Erik’s mouth with his own. _I could not bear to be left any more than you._

His own heart eased, Erik let himself fall into the kiss.


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Consider this my apology for the last chapter.

Shifting to make sure his feet had a nice tight grip on the branch – he could hold himself up by only his tail, but he hadn’t tried it with a passenger yet – Kurt dropped down fully and wiggled his fingers at Wanda.  “Come on.” He gave her his best reassuring smile, the one he used when he reassured his parents and uncles that teleporting into solid rock wasn’t scary at all. “I won’t drop you, I promise.”

Wanda still eyed him warily, but she slowly reached up and laid her hands in Kurt’s. “If you do drop me,” she said quietly, “please make sure you also catch me.”

Kurt didn’t feel bad that she doubted his abilities – he’d seen that Wanda had a hard time trusting anybody, and the fact that she was willing to do it at all meant a lot. “I told you, I won’t drop you.” He tilted his head back up to look at the branches spread out above them, calculating the angles he needed. He still wouldn’t turn six for another month, but he’d borrowed a geometry textbook from Lorna and it helped make things easier to picture in his head. “Now, grab my arms and hold on really tight.”

She did, lifting her feet just like he’d told her to, and he started them both swinging. When he got the right height, he tossed Wanda in the air and grabbed his target branch with his free hand. She gasped, but didn’t shriek – which was cool, because he’d had older kids shriek just when they watched him do his tricks, and she was _in_ on it – and grabbed onto his arm when he caught her underneath her armpits and helped her onto the branch. He leapt up after her, dropping down and letting his legs swing down the sides. “See?” he said brightly. “I didn’t drop you.”

After a second, Wanda copied the way he was sitting. “No, you didn’t,” she said, a small, shy smile forming on her face. She looked up into the canopy of branches and leaves over their head, her smile widening. “I never saw trees before I came here.”

Suddenly, Kurt wanted to show her all the trees she’d missed. “You and Piotr should come with us next time we go to Madagascar,” he said excitedly, leaning forward. “They have huge trees, everywhere, and you can watch the lemurs jumping back and forth between them. Mom turns into a lemur and she and I go jumping together, but Dad and Rahne stay safe on the ground and watch us. You could stay with them, or Mom and I could help you jump around in the trees.”

She looked overwhelmed but hopeful. “You think... you think your parents would be okay with me coming?” she asked hesitantly. “It sounds like it’s something just your family does.”

Kurt’s brow furrowed, not sure what she meant. “Yeah, but you’re family.” He touched the metal bracelet on her wrist, a slightly different shade than the one around his own wrist. “I heard Uncle Erik talking – you and Piotr got the same metal Uncle Charles did, while mine matches my mom and dad’s and Rahne’s. The other students all got a different metal.”

She rubbed her fingertips over the bracelet’s smooth links. “It’s a special family bracelet?” she asked quietly, her voice just a little shaky.

“Yeah.” He laid his hand over hers. “And Uncle Charles told me to take special care of—“

“Wanda!” Piotr’s sudden yell cut through the relative quiet. “Wanda!”

“I’m up here!” she called back, voice stronger. “Kurt and I are playing!”

Piotr ran toward the sound, appearing under the tree an instant later. He yelled up something to Wanda in Romanian, but she shook her head. “No, Piotr! If we want to make friends, we have to talk in a language everyone else can understand!”

He scowled, pouting a little. “What are you doing up there?” he called out, looking like he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to drag Wanda down or climb up there himself.

Well, Kurt knew which one he’d prefer. “Playing, like Wanda said,” he called out, swinging down so only his legs were keeping him on the branch and holding out a hand. “Want to come up and join us?”

Poitr’s eyes widened, and he looked both genuinely impressed and slightly freaked out by the prospect. Finally, he shook his head. “No. Mr. Munoz and Mr. Cassidy and said they would teach us baseball. I run so fast that I’ll definitely beat all the other kids.”

Kurt nodded. He’d seen Poitr run, and he’d definitely want to make sure they were on the same team. “I think you’re right.”

Piotr puffed up his chest. “I know I am.” He hesitated, then waved at them both. “Have fun in the tree. Don’t fall and die.”

When he ran off, Kurt sighed. “Why does everyone but Dad and Uncle Erik think I’ll fall or drop people?” he asked. “Sometimes I jump, but I didn’t even fall when I was a _baby_. And if I don’t drop Rahne, who even Dad says is the squirmiest baby _ever_ , I wouldn’t drop a bigger person who does what I tell them to.”

“I don’t know, but can you please get back up here?” Wanda asked, leaning over just a little to get a better look at his face. “Please?”

Drawn by the urgency in her voice – why did _everyone_ always think he’d fall? – he was about to swing himself back up onto the branch. Kurt shifted, dropping a little further down as he relaxed his legs, and hesitated when he heard Wanda’s indrawn breath. He was about to reassure her when he was surprised by a sudden burst of wind, shifting the branches underneath him in a way that made the leaves bunch together for just a moment. If he had fallen, it would be the perfect thing to slow his fall.

He swung back up onto the branch, excited. “That was cool what you did with the branches!” he said, gentling his voice when she looked surprised and faintly guilty. He’d been taught to understand and appreciate his powers since the moment he was born, but some of the students who came from faraway places hadn’t been that lucky. “Do you have wind powers like ‘Ro?”

Wanda looked down, shoulders hunching, and shook her head. “No.” When he reached out, touching her hand again, she looked back up at him. “I just... things happen. When I want them to. Sometimes.” She bit her lip. “If you want to go play with the other kids, that’s okay.”

He reached out and touched her hand again, not sure why she was so worried but wanting to fix it. “I like it right where I am.” Then he smiled at her. “But if you wanted some cookies to magically appear up here, I wouldn’t say no.”

When she laughed, he felt like he’d leapt so high he was flying.


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had some very wise commenters point out to me that it sort of seems as though Charles's partial paralysis has become magically healed, and I realized that I've let Charles persuade me into glossing over certain things that should absolutely not be glossed over. Changes have been made to ch. 29 and 31, and to a lesser extent ch. 22, and if anyone notices an area where I need to make more changes let me know.

Slowly but surely, the X-men started becoming more active again. Raven still went on fewer missions than she once did, but Sean had refined his powers to the point where they were nearly as useful on the ground as they were in midair. Melody was ready, picking up as many fighting techniques as she could to back up her life energy-draining abilities, and Lorna and Shola even started going out on a few missions.

Mostly, however, they continued to fight humans. They were the ones equipped to enact cruelty on the largest scale, from enslavement to mass slaughtering to a variety of other crimes. There were lesser criminals out there, human and mutant, but the X-men had no interest in protecting laws or profits. They protected people, mutant or human.

Mutants, for the most part, seemed to stay away from large-scale destruction. Though years had passed, no one had stepped up to fill the world-domination void Shaw had left. Erik suspected that Emma had been true to her word, for once, warning any powerful mutants who might be listening that they needed to confine themselves in their quest for power or face his and Charles’s combined wrath. They didn’t care about mob bosses, but anyone who threatened lives would be eradicated.

Other threats were subtler. They had no desire to restrict people from using their powers, but anything dramatic enough to bring mutants to governmental attention would put thousands of innocent mutant lives on the line. They would reveal themselves when they were ready, when they had laid the necessary groundwork to protect those who needed protecting, but until then it couldn’t be allowed to happen.

000

The building’s locks were a simple matter – he simply ripped them from the doors, dropping the hunks of metal on the ground next to them. The alarms were more complicated, but finding the wires and snapping them to silence the noise was always good practice.  

The guards, unfortunately, Charles had taken care of, sending everyone in the building to sleep before Erik has even stepped into the building.

 _You could have let me punch_ a few _of them_ , Erik sent, stepping over an unconscious body on his way down the corridor. Porter had built himself a verdammt _maze_ , and though Charles knew exactly where they should be going it was taking a ridiculous, utterly boring amount of time to get there. With every room Erik was becoming more and more annoyed. _I wouldn’t kill them, and it would break up the monotony. I’m tempted to take down a wall or two just to show how unappreciative I am of his architectural choices._

 _I got the sense that it amuses him._ There was a dry edge to Charles’s mental voice, though his presence in Erik’s mind held the same steady warmth. _As a teleporter, he never has to navigate the building himself, but he enjoys listening to people complain about it._

 _That decides it. I’m definitely breaking something he’s fond of._  He ripped the lock out of the last door as he finished the thought, stepping into the room filled with security cameras that Telford Porter used as his central base of operations. Porter himself, known as “The Vanisher” among the more suggestible circle of criminals in the immediate vicinity, was slumped over in the chair. Charles had rendered him unconscious along with the rest of the building, not wanting to give him a chance to teleport away before Erik could get to him.

Now, he used his power to take careful hold of all the fillings in the man’s mouth, then grabbed Porter’s bald head and yanked it backwards just as Charles made him regain consciousness. Porter woke up, eyes widening in alarm, then squeezed them shut as his entire body went tense. Nothing happened, and when Porter opened his eyes again he looked even more horrified than he had a second ago. “Why can’t I teleport?”

 _Because I’m paralyzing the part of your brain that allows you to access your power_. Charles sent him. _You’ll get it back if this conversation ends the way we hope it will, but until then I’m afraid you’re stuck here with us._

“I wouldn’t try struggling physically, either.” Erik gave Porter’s fillings a gentle tug, not enough to harm him but enough to make it painfully clear what he could do. “It could get quite messy.”

Porter blanched. Through Charles, Erik picked up Porter’s realization that he was facing _two_ extremely powerful men, one of whom he couldn’t see, and that he was going to have to be very careful if he wanted to survive the next few minutes. Erik approved of the instinct – it was intelligence as much as skill that kept smaller predators alive. “What do you want?”

“You have plans to steal criminal defense plans from the U.S. government, then announce yourself to them and demands millions of dollars,” Erik said calmly. Charles had picked up on the thought during his last sweep with Cerebro, but there was no need for Porter to know that. “You need to stop those plans, immediately, along with any other future plans that involve announcing yourself to world leaders like some _arschgeige_.”

Porter blinked, confused, and Erik immediately downgraded his estimation of Porter’s intelligence by a few notches. “You work for the _government_?”

“No,” Erik snapped. “We work for no one. But if you commit such a spectacular crime, particularly one that attacks their precious national defense, the government will get suspicious. They will start investigating, and in the process they will discover that you have powers they don’t. In turn, they will realize there are other people with powers they don’t have, and they will want to _use_ them.”

 _We made that mistake once before,_ Charles murmured, so quietly Erik wasn’t certain whether the thought had been meant for him or Charles himself. _I made that mistake. Never again._

Erik looked Porter square in the eye, letting him see every ounce of he lethal potential. “We will not allow you to start that chain of events.”

There was no defiance in Porter’s eyes, but he clearly hadn’t grasped the full significance of what Erik was saying. “Why do you _care_? You could probably take out the whole government, if you wanted. You don’t have anything to be afraid of.”

Erik had already felt Charles’s frustration rising, mingling with his own, and now it snapped out in the mental voice Charles projected into Porter’s mind. _Do you have any idea how many mutants there are in the U.S. alone? How many children? How many families? These people deserve to be safe and unafraid, and if you let your ego put them all in danger I’ll—_ He stopped himself abruptly, and even Erik wasn’t entirely certain how he had intended to finish the sentence. From the brush of his thoughts, it seemed as though he’d been overwhelmed with several possibilities. The fact that he had so quickly thought of so many, some of which were brutally creative from the vague impressions Erik could pick up, had unsettled him.

The man he loved had the sharpest of teeth, and had never hesitated in using them to protect those who were his. But as accepting as he had always been of Erik’s viciousness, when there was no immediate threat of danger he was far less comfortable with his own.

Porter had gone pale again. “You’ll what?” he whispered.

“Imagine,” Erik said, voice a silken threat that spared Charles from having to choose one. “Think about what he’s doing to your brain now. Imagine everything else he could do.” He sheared a sharp piece of metal off the ruined lock, bringing the tip to hover a breath away from the softest part of Porter’s neck. Only then did he move his hand away. “Of course, that’s only something you need to worry about if I let you live.”

 _And if you confine yourself to the kind of thievery you were doing before, you don’t need to worry about either of us_ , Charles added, sending a burst of gratitude and love to Erik. _We don’t want to stop you from your work. We simply won’t allow you to endanger anyone else._

Porter tried to nod, jerking away when he accidentally touched his throat to the tip of the metal. “Okay,” he said, breathless and desperate. “Okay. No stealing defense plans. No big speeches. Only banks and vaults from now on, I promise.”

“Good.” Erik moved the knife away, but he kept hold of Porter’s fillings the same way Charles kept hold of his mind. “We’ll be watching.”

Porter nodded now, swallowing heavily, then grabbed a piece of paper off the console and scrawled a number on it. He held it out to Erik, hand shaking a little. “It’s a private line. A message will get to me within a day no matter where I am.” His hand dropped when he finally took the paper, as if he no longer had the strength to hold it up. Still, he held Erik’s eyes. “Any favor you ever need from me, I’m there. You only have to say the word.”

Erik nodded, folding the piece of paper and putting it in his pocket. Neither he nor Charles tell him that Charles could easily put any request he had directly into Porter’s mind. “We will remember.”

Porter nodded back, shoulders dropping as he let out a relieved breath. “And so will I.”

Once they’d left – Porter had offered to teleport him out, but Erik wasn’t about to leave himself in the hands of someone he didn’t trust – Erik got back into his rental car and headed to the airstrip where he’d left the plane. Charles’s presence in his mind felt thoughtful, but not ashamed. _That was better_ , he sent to Erik, as if he’d been working the situation over in his mind again. _If we’d fought him, I would have done something permanent to him. Destroyed his ability to teleport, or at least wiped his memory of all knowledge that he_ could _teleport, because it’s not something we could counter. Now… we at least gave him a choice._

 _You are looking for moral advice from a killer, engel,_ Erik sent back, almost amused.

 _No, I’m looking for tactics confirmation from my partner in all things,_ Charles countered, that serious edge to his voice that always meant he was preparing for the future. _We are making a new way, and that unfortunately means drawing our own maps._

Erik thought about the old days, when he’d walked into bars and offices and shady back rooms alone and shaking with rage. He did not regret any of those deaths, but the thought of going back to that life was too horrible to contemplate. _Yes,_ he said finally. _That was better._


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you didn't notice it on the last chapter, I've made changes to chapters 22, 29 and 31 that more accurately reflect the state of Charles's legs, and will continue to reflect that accurately from this point on. 
> 
> As for this chapter... this isn't exactly how I thought it was going to go. But looking back, it was probably inevitable.

There were so few private moments for Charles. Normally, he was grateful – he had been alone long enough already to last the rest of his life – but there were some things he couldn’t bear to have the most loving of audiences for.

Now, waking up early gave him a few moments as Erik finished his morning run. Wanda and Pietro were both still sleeping, enjoying the remnants of a night relatively free of nightmares, and Charles brushed the lightest touch over both their minds. Then he carefully tucked his thoughts away from Erik, never enough to make it seem like it was pulling away but enough to put as much mental distance between them as possible, and finished buckling on his leg braces. Hank had made some improvements to the design, but there was only so much even he could do.

Then, taking a deep breath to brace himself, he stood up. He immediately felt like he was about to fall, every instinct in his body screaming at him to grab hold of something so he didn’t topple. The chair was tantalizingly close, promising its own relief. But mental discipline had been a part of his life since he was a small child, and so he forced his hands to stay still while he concentrated on staying upright without the use of any outside support or the assistance of Erik’s powers.

It hurt, of course. It always did whenever he tried to use the braces, and his refusal to take any of the pressure off his legs was only making it worse. He’d been so physically self-indulgent in his old life – he was sure a psychologist could have a field day identifying all of the things he’d been compensating for – that even now he still shied away from the particular pain of his braces more than he should. It was safer in the chair, but with the world so unaccommodating he could never be truly self-reliant in it. His little-used cane, while it gave him extra mobility, was too obvious a tell that he needed extra assistance.

He closed his eyes, cataloguing the ache. It was sharpening far more quickly than usual, enough that it would be impractical if they were in the field. He would be too distracted to concentrate on whatever his telepathy needed to do, whether they were dealing with politicians or in the middle of a battle, and that would render him even more useless than his legs ever had. But he had occasionally shut down a person’s pain receptors in emergency situations, and if he did it to himself then he could—

_Don’t you dare_. Erik’s voice sliced across his thoughts, low and furious. _Not for this._

Charles tensed, not sure how he felt about the fact that Erik had been keeping such a close eye on him. A close eye, more importantly, that Charles himself hadn’t even noticed. _I’m fine, love_ , he sent, making his own mental voice as soothing as possible. _Just some experimentation_.

_Which I have stayed silent about for years now, no matter how much I could feel it hurting you,_ Erik shot back, clearly not about to be mollified. _But I refuse to let you brutalize your body for your verdammt pride. I’ll be there in less than a minute._

Annoyed, Charles sat back down on the bed. If he didn’t, Erik was likely to push him down onto the bed himself, and given the mood they were both in that particular indignity wasn’t likely to help matters. _Erik, I’m fine. It was a simple—_

_Pain is the only voice your body has to protect itself_. Now Charles could feel the worry woven through Erik’s anger, the combination far more potent than even the strongest rage would have been. _If you silence it simply because you do not like what it has to say, you could do incalculable damage to your body without even realizing it._

Charles had seen all the times Erik had ignored or pushed past his own pain while hunting Nazis, brutalizing himself over and over again without a thought for the sake of the mission. _Given the number of times you did it, you’re hardly the person to yell at someone else for doing the same_ , Charles shot back, feeling like he needed to defend himself. Did he truly not think Charles was strong enough to handle it?

He felt Erik picking up on the thought. _Sometimes I feel like I’m more aware of your strength than you are. And all my experience means is that I’m the perfect person to tell you what a dangerous, foolish thing it is to ignore pain._

_I’ve ignored worse._ He shied away from the childhood memories threatening to rise up. _It will be a useful tool to have if we ever need to meet with politicians, and I—_

He cut the thought off as Erik stepped through the doorway. Crossing the room in an instant, he pushed the wheelchair out of the way to drop to his knees in front of Charles. Using his powers to close the door behind them, Erik took Charles’ hands in his. _We are more than machines, engel. You are the one who taught me that._

Charles closed his eyes, but even that wasn’t enough to escape the earnest pleading on Erik’s face. It filled his mind as well, the love flooding through it all making his throat grow tight. _You deserve more than to have to take care of me all the time._ The thought was half words, half the knotted guilt that lay deep inside his mind.

Erik went absolutely still, his sense of awareness sharp and all encompassing. The edge of hurt was buried beneath, ever ready. _It’s my right to take care of you in any way you need. My pleasure._

Charles slid his hands out from underneath Erik’s to cradle his face, leaning down so that their foreheads rested together. _I know you love me,_ he whispered into Erik’s mind, the words thick with unshed tears. _I do. It keeps me going. But you know as well as I do that my legs are what kept you here in the first place.  That, if I hadn’t been shot, you and Raven likely would have left before we had enough time to sort ourselves out. At the time, I was so bloody grateful I didn’t even allow myself to think about it – I would have done anything to hold you both there with me. But I need to do what I can to loosen this shackle from around your necks._

_That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard you say._ The words were fierce, Erik’s hands tightening on Charles’s damaged thighs. _You are my heart, my soul. You saved me in every way a person can be saved. Do you have any idea how grateful I was that you needed me, even for that? I would do anything for you, then or now. Helping with your chair or being the arm you need to stay standing is nothing. Nothing._

Charles knew that. He’d felt it, more than once, but he knew better than anyone that there were some emotions buried so deeply they came out in only the most intense mental scans. And the deeper an emotion was buried, the more power it had. _So there’s no guilt? No obligation?_  Anything he could use to unfairly hold Erik had the potential to poison. To make Erik eventually regret the life he had tied himself to.

The life that Charles had tied him to.

_There is always obligation when it comes to love._ Erik’s mental voice was utterly gentle. _You cannot tell me that you don’t feel some sort of obligation to shore up my broken places. And there is no guilt in me, not for this. Only awe that you considered my life to be worth trading for your legs, and a gratitude I will carry with me for the rest of my days._

And that was the crux of it, wasn’t it? As much as he resented his legs at times, he would ask to be shot a thousand times over if the other option meant not having Erik. Not having Raven. If someone had offered him the trade, his legs for the chance to keep them, he would have done it in an instant. For Erik alone, he would have done it. What kind of selfishness did it take to even think like that? _I don’t need you to be grateful. I don’t want you to be._

_You cannot stop it, engel. I have been thought of as garbage by too many not to see it as a wonder._ He opened his eyes, taking Charles’ hands from his face and pressing a kiss to each one. _You were right about one thing,_ he continued, holding on tightly. _I might have left, had I not had the excuse of your legs to allow me to stay close to you. And if I had, the life I would be living is a pale, horrifying shadow of the one I have now. So if anything, your injury was a gift to me. If I were to feel guilty for anything, it would be that._  

The words felt like truth, but belief and truth often felt the same. Erik could believe more intensely than anyone Charles had ever met, and if he’d heard Charles’s earlier thoughts he might have chosen that one specifically as a counter.

_I know that it’s your nature to second-guess every thought_ , Erik sent, the quiet murmur feeling like a touch, _but you of all people should know I’m not that complicated._

Erik’s lips curved, just a little, and the desire to both laugh and cry rose up inside Charles. _I can’t lose this._ He leaned forward, pressing his own lips against Erik’s knuckles. _I can’t lose you. I can’t lose the children. I can’t lose any of you. I need to be everything you need, all the time, because…._ Pain at the mere possibility made his thoughts stutter. _Because if I’m not…._

Erik let go of him only to pull him down into a hug. _I am broken, engel. If I seem whole now, it is only because your presence has filled the empty places inside of me._ He held on so tightly, as if he needed it as much as Charles did. _You are as vital to me as the heart beating in my chest, and I rely on your strength every moment of every day. We all do. But you need to let us give you ours in return._ A pulse of love. _Please_.

Charles squeezed his eyes shut again, tightening his arms around Erik and sobbing unashamedly for the first time since he was a small child. Erik just held him, steady and strong.

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my weekly posts and original short fiction on my [blog](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


End file.
